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Origin and history

The Musée des Plans-reliefs presents a collection unique to the world of models of squares, mainly made between the 17th and 19th centuries. Located in the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, it gathers detailed representations of cities and fortresses, originally intended for Louis XIV and his staff. These relief plans, on the scale of 1/600e for the most part, were designed as strategic tools before becoming objects of art and heritage.

The collection was initiated in 1668 by Louvois, Minister of War of Louis XIV, with Dunkirk's first model, followed by Ath and Lille's citadel. In 1697, Vauban counted 144, representing 101 fortified sites. Originally preserved at the Tuileries, and then transferred to the Louvre in 1700, these relief plans were accessible to a limited public. In 1777 they were installed in the attic of the Hôtel des Invalides, where some were damaged or destroyed during the move.

In the 19th century, the collection was enriched under Napoleon, but 17 models were seized by the Prussians in 1814 and transported to Berlin. Only Lille was recovered in 1948 after the bombings of the Second World War. In 1870, the War Department found these representations obsolete, putting an end to their production. Of the 260 relief plans created between 1668 and 1870, only 97 are now preserved in the museum, classified as a historical monument in 1927.

In 1987, 15 models of cities fortified by Vauban were transferred to the Palais des beaux-arts in Lille, including seven French strongholds (such as Calais or Lille) and eight in Belgium and the Netherlands. The museum, redesigned in 1997, exhibits 28 relief plans in its gallery, while part of the collections was presented in 2012 at the Grand Palais during the exhibition La France en relief.

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