Invalides' golden dome
And also
The tops
Detail |
Alejandro / CC-BY
The church was raised from 1679 to 1708 by architect Hardouin-Mansart, based upon plans by Libéral-Bruant.
The dome was built by Hardouin-Mansart from 1679, and only completed in 1706: it was a kind of royal crown on Bruant's masterpiece!
Anyway, it's the most beautiful dome ever raised in France! Golden when the church was completed in 1706, then in the reign of Napoleon in 1807 and Napoleon III in 1869, the new gilding was made in 1937.
But it was badly applied... so it was spoiled only 5 years later! The brand new gilding was applied with gold leaf of 0,2 microns thick. In total, 12,65 kg of gold were used!