The Louvre

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More than 7,000 years ago, men and women camped on a spot called le Louvre. A thousand years later King Philippe Auguste of France constructed a fortress there in 1191; the fortress became a royal palace under Charles V two centuries later, and the monarchy's principal residence under François I in 1546. It remained so until 1682, when Louis XIV moved his entire court to Versailles. During the Reign of Terror in 1793, the Louvre first opened its doors to display the nation's treasures. A witness to French history, it has expanded to become home to a legendary collection. Gardner chronicles in the first full-length history of the Louvre in English -- adapted from jacket