The tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte is under the gilded dome of the Cathedral Saint-Louis des Invalides.

As you know, Napoleon died on St. Helena on 5 may 1821. In 1840 king Louis-Philippe received the consent of great Britain for the return of the ashes of exile in France. On 14 December of the same year a military frigate La Belle-Bullets" brought the coffin to France. The next day the body of the Emperor in the great concourse of people was solemnly moved to the nursing Home, the national necropolis military figures.

The tomb of Napoleon temporarily, until the completion of the permanent tomb, found in the chapel of St. Jerome. The establishment of a permanent tomb was delayed for 20 years – the author of the project, the architect Louis Visconti, did not live to see its completion. But the building turned out to be extremely magnificent.

Enormous sarcophagus dimensions of 4 by 2, 4, 5 meters and a weight of 35 tons is carved from a solid such as diamond, Karelian porphyry – dvuhsottonnuyu lump of this mineral Tsar Nicholas I gave the French government specifically for the monument. They say, however, he joked that in Russia for Napoleon stone is always there.

Inside the sarcophagus there are five alternately inserted into each other coffins, keeping the body of the Emperor: tin, mahogany, two zinc and ebony. Set the tomb on the pedestal of green granite. Stand around twelve winged Victories, carved by Jean Jacques Pradier from specially selected blocks of Carrara marble. On the stone floor are seen the names of the cities near which Napoleon won, including Moscow.

April 2, 1861 the body of Napoleon was forever trapped in the sarcophagus in the uniform of the commander of the guards, at the feet of the famous cocked hat. The entrance to the tomb is guarded by two colossal bronze guard, holding the Imperial crown, sceptre and Orb.

The Invalides is also nameless tombstone, under which the Emperor was lying on the island of St. Helena. The stone you can see from the gallery that leads to the Courtyard of honour, with four sides surrounded by the buildings of the House of the disabled.