Napoleon was here
Visits of historical significance, with documented identifiable locations and in person
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Aachen Cathedral | Napoleon visited Aachen cathedral on 2 October 1804. The painting "Napoleon before the Throne of Charlemagne" by Henri-Paul Motte shows the emperor in front of Charlemagne's throne, on which he did not sit, out of respect. | |
| Amsterdam Canal Ring | In October 1811 Emperor Napoleon visited Amsterdam with Marie-Louise. They stayed at the Palace outside the inscribed area but records show several visits to inscribed locations including Felix Meritis for a ball on 22 October and to Hoge Sluis on Oct 13 and 20th for fireworks (the first was cancelled for bad weather!). | |
| Belfries | Belfries - Napoleon ascended the St. Rumbold's Tower in Mechelen in 1803. (Dutch Wikipedia) | |
| City of Luxembourg | Napoleon visited the Bock casemates in 1804. | |
| Dorset and East Devon Coast | There is a story that Napoleon was seen landing in 1804 at Lulworth (to inspect it as an invasion beachhead), Thomas Hardy later writing a poem and a short story about these incidents. | |
| Ferrara | In 1796 Napoleon met Cardinal Alessandro Mattei in the Palazzo Arcivescovile. | |
| Florence | Palazzo Pitti : "In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon (...) during his period of control over Italy." | |
| Fontainebleau | In 1814, Napoleon resigned there and bade farewell to his troops before going into exile to Elba. It was his favourite residence. | |
| Graz | April 1797 | |
| Great Spa Towns of Europe | Vichy: "The Parc des Sources, which still exists, was created in 1812 by Napoleon Bonaparte." (Ab Ev) Baden bei Wien: "Napoleon Bonaparte tasted the Baden thermal waters on 15 October 1809". (Nomination File, p. 75) | |
| Kremlin and Red Square | During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the French forces occupied the Kremlin from 2 September to 11 October | |
| Nice | Napoleon Bonaparte, appointed to command the Army of Italy, stayed on the top floor of the Palais Hongran from March 26 to April 2, 1796. | |
| Old City of Acre | Besieged by Napoleon. If he ever set foot in the town is not known. | |
| Paris, Banks of the Seine | Ecole Militaire (1784-5 - completed 2 year course in 1) | |
| Pyramids (Memphis) | Very likely that he visited it when in Egypt. There are paintings of him next to the pyramids. | |
| Regensburg | No 6 Domplaz has a large stone plaque on its front wall recording "Hier hat Napleon I am 23 April 1809 Quartier Genommen". In fact, although the Battle of Ratisbon (Regensburg) took place on 23 April and Napoleon was slightly wounded (his foot being bruised by a spent ball) he spent the night outside the city at nearby Prull Monastery before making the former townhouse of the Prince Primate Karl von Dalberg his HQ for the next 2 days | |
| Schönbrunn | Used as HQ by Napoleon in 1805 and 9. Oct 1809. There is a "Napoleon Room". He also faced an assassination attempt there | |
| Torun | Napoleon stayed in Toruń on 2-6 June 1812. He arrived here after his several-thousand army going through Toruń to war with Moscow since the spring that year. While in Toruń, he visited St. Johns’ Church and the building he believed to be Copernicus’ House, inspected the guard troops deployed along the fortification line and dictated thousands of letters. (VisitTorun) | |
| Trier | Wiki :- "During his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra should be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept, and the eastern tower not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally even wanted to completely tear down the church; allegedly, locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gallic festival hall before being turned into a church (in another version, they simply told him about its Roman origins); it is claimed that this prevented the destruction of the building and persuaded Napoleon instead to convert the gate back to its original form." | |
| Valletta | June 12 1898 - stayed for 6 days on way to Egypt. Used Palazio Pariso in Merchants street as his HQ | |
| Vilnius | Conquered by Napoleon on his way to Moscow in 1812. Said to have liked the St. Anna Cathedral so 'that he wanted to take it home in the palm of his hand to Paris'. | |
| Wachau Cultural Landscape | Naploeon "stayed" at Melk Abbey in 1805/6 and 9 using it as an HQ. He is said to have particularly used the Terrace with its views to plan his campaigns | |
| Warsaw | "Climb up ul. Kamienne Schodki to get back into the main square. Not only is this the longest stairwell in Old Town, it?s also where Napoleon allegedly stood in 1806, pensively staring eastwards as he planned his campaign against Russia" |
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