History of the Louvre
The Lourve in Paris is an iconic part of France. People travel from all over the world to see this magnificent palace. The Louvre has been a huge part of French culture and history.
The Louvre was initially built to be a palace for King Phillip II. It was supposed to be passed down to his son, Louis VIII. But Louis VIII thought it was too small so he built another one that is way bigger. Just to put how big the Louvre into the picture, it is three times the size of Buckingham Palace in London. It became a museum in August of 1793.
The pyramids in front have been controversial for many years for many reasons. For one, they thought that the pyramids took away from the beauty of the Louvre. They also thought that they did not match the French theme of the area. The pyramids were designed by Chinese artist- I.M. Pei. Lots of people thought that it should have been designed by a French architect.
The louvre contains over 5,500 paintings, 380,000 objects, and an uncounted number of statues. Some of the most famous paintings include Liberty Leading the People, The Mona Lisa, The Raft of Medusa, The Coronation of Napoleon, The Lace Maker, and The Wedding at Cana. The oldest work in the museum is Ain Ghazal, and is over 9,000 years old! It is a statue of an early human. Some other statues include The Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and The Three Graces. 
