Joaquin Phoenix should have coughed like Napoleon Bonaparte in Napoleon Ridley Scott, so that immediately after the premiere of this film, a new wave of tourists flocked to Paris eager to discover the details of the life of the famous military leader and ruler. Nothing strange: interest in places related to Napoleon appears in waves, around significant anniversaries in his life (birth, death, coronation as emperor, Austerlitz, Borodin, Waterloo...) or when a new film about him appears, such as is now.
Let's just mention that before Ridley Scott's film about Napoleon, about 180 films were made, starting with Limière's 42-second long work Entrée de Napoléon et du Pape (Conversation between Napoleon and the Pope) from 1897 and through well-known biographical films such as Desiree starring Marlon Brando (1954), War and Peace (1967) The Hostage of Europe (1989) The Emperor's New Clothes (2002), which was followed Napoleon Ridley Scott from last November.
This time I also decided to go to Les Invalides for the first time after several visits to Paris and visit Bonaparte's tomb as well as the Musée de l'Armée (Military Museum), which is located in the same complex in the 7th arrondissement of the French capital.
About 1,2 million tourists visit this place annually, and data show that in the first months after the premiere of Scott's new film, their number almost doubled.
The museum was created in 1905 by the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée. This first one, the Artillery Museum, was created in 1795 right after the French Revolution. It was moved to Les Invalides in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War, the fall of Napoleon III and the proclamation of the Third Republic.
photo: Robert Choban...Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides from 1676.
Today, the Military Museum has 500.000 artifacts: weapons, ammunition, artillery, flags, uniforms, paintings, statues, posters, photographs... In addition to the exhibits, the museum has very well-organized and multimedia segments, especially those that show the development of war operations in the Second World War on large screens. war. Inside the complex there is also a cathedral - Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides from 1676.
When you pass it, you reach the place where the grave of Napoleon, his son Napoleon II, as well as many other French statesmen and military leaders are located.
Almost everything is known about the life and battles of Napoleon Bonaparte and his death on St. Jelena in 1821. But the exciting episode of the return of his earthly remains to France is less known to the general public and has not often been the subject of films, series or books.
The operation was called "Retour des cendres", translated as "return of the ashes", although it is about Napoleon's remains and not ashes, since the famous military leader was not cremated. After the defeat at Waterloo, Bonaparte returned to Paris and abdicated on June 22, 1815. After an unsuccessful attempt to sail to the USA, he surrendered to the British, who imprisoned him on the island of St. Helena in the middle of the Atlantic so that he would not again think of (as 1814 from Elba) returned victoriously to France and started a new series of wars. He died on Sveta Jelena in 1821.
According to his will written on April 16, 1821 at Longwood House on St. Helena, Napoleon expressed his wish to be buried "by the banks of the Seine, among the French whom I loved so much." However, that idea did not appeal to either the British or the newly enthroned King of France, Louis XVIII, who believed that such a funeral could serve as an occasion for new political unrest.
After the July Revolution of 1830 (the one immortalized by the picture Freedom leads the people Eugène Delacroix) a petition to return Napoleon's mortal remains to France appeared again. Ten years later, after long and complicated negotiations between France and Great Britain, the ship "Belle Poule" accompanied by the corvette "Favourite" sailed from the port of Toulon on July 7, 1840 and headed for Saint Helena. The voyage lasted as long as 93 days and turned into a kind of tourist trip: along the way, they stopped in Cadiz, Madeira, Tenerife, and in Bahia, Brazil, they stayed as long as 15 days, which, according to testimonies, were spent in balls and festivities. Prince Francois d'Orléans, the third son of the French king Louis Philippe I, led the expedition, and he was met on the island of St. Helena by the British governor George Middlemore.
The exhumation took place at midnight on October 15 in the Valley of Tombs. Witnesses say that under the light of the torches, they first saw the satin fabric with which the body was covered. When it was removed, "Napoleon's recognizable face appeared with closed eyes, slightly open mouth..." He was dressed in his famous green uniform, and on his chest was the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor... The coffin was written "Napoléon Empereur mort à Sainte -Hélène le 05 Mai 1821” (Napoleon, emperor, died on St. Helena on May 5, 1821).
At 3.30:XNUMX in the morning, in heavy rain, Napoleon's ebony coffin (moved into a larger oak chest) was carried aboard the "Belle Poule" and placed in a small candle-lit chapel built for the purpose. On their way to Europe, "Belle Poule" and "Favourite" met the merchant ship "Hambourg", whose captain brought them news of growing tensions between France and Great Britain. Namely, in the meantime, the Oriental Crisis took place in the war between the Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali, who clashed with the Ottoman Empire, and which was supported by other great powers - Great Britain, Austria and the Russian Empire. France tried to support Muhammad Ali, but in fear of an open war with the British, gave up. For this reason, the crews of "Belle Poule" and "Favourite" were afraid that British warships could attack and sink them, so that Napoleon's earthly remains would end up at the bottom of the ocean.
The "Belle Poule" with Napoleon's body finally arrives on November 30 in the port of Cherbourg, France. Three days later, the casket was transferred to the steamship "La Normandie" on which it sailed to the port of Havre, and finally arrived in Paris on December 3 by the ship "La Dorade 14" on the Seine.
Napoleon's funeral took place on December 15, and the words of an elated Victor Hugo will remain recorded: "Oh, frozen sky! And pure sun rays! They shine in history! (…) May people remember you forever! A day beautiful as glory and cold as a tomb!”
During the funeral ceremony, the best musicians of the Paris Opera under the baton of François Haberneck performed Mozart Requiem. From December 16 to 24, the "Les Invalides" complex was open and thousands of French people came to pay their last respects to their emperor, whose reign was still vividly remembered by many.
There were many rumors among the people that Napoleon was not actually dead, that an empty coffin arrived in Paris, that the British took the body to London for an autopsy... And later, it was said that during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, the body was hidden would fall into the hands of Bismarck.
Napoleon II, son of Napoleon Bonaparte, who died in Vienna at the age of 21, was also buried in "Les Invalides". His heart remained in urn number 42 in the crypt of the Augustinian Church inside the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, and his body was transferred from Vienna during the German occupation of Paris by the express order of Adolf Hitler - on December 15, 1940. Exactly 100 years after Napoleon Bonaparte found his final peace here.
