École Militaire, Military academy in 7th district, Paris, France
The military academy sits at the southern end of the Champ de Mars, displaying Baroque architecture with Corinthian columns and a central dome. The complex spreads across a large grounds with several connected buildings, courtyards, and green spaces.
King Louis XV founded this institution in 1751 as a training ground for young men without financial means. It became a center of military education and continues to shape French military tradition today.
The name comes from the royal military school founded by Louis XV's edict of January 1751, endowed in part by a tax on playing cards. The Saint-Louis Chapel, whose first stone the king laid on 5 July 1768, holds paintings of the life of Saint Louis. The site opens to the public during the European Heritage Days.
The site is served by line 8 at the École Militaire metro station, at the southeast end of the Champ de Mars. The buildings are active military staff colleges, so the complex is not open to visitors as a rule; it can be visited during the European Heritage Days.
The Marshals' Salon, where Napoleon kept his headquarters in 1795, still holds busts by Lemoyne and portraits of officers. On the grand staircase, damage from the French Revolution remains visible. In 1895 the courtyard was the scene of Captain Dreyfus's military degradation; he was rehabilitated in 1906.
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