Louvre opens second museum
2013-01-16
Millions of travelers journey to Paris, France, to see the magnificent artwork on display at The Louvre. Now, travelers heading to France will be able to see additional works exhibited at a sister site of the museum, reports USA Today.
The new facility, known as the Louvre Lens, is located approximately one hour north of Paris in the Nord-Pas de Calais region. Housed in a former coal mine, the new museum boasts a cutting-edge steel and glass design, and will house artworks on a temporary rotating basis.
Around 200 pieces have been displayed at the Lens at present, including well-known works such as Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix.
According to Time magazine, officials hope that the opening of the new museum will stimulate tourism to the region, which has suffered financially as a result of the lingering economic crisis in Europe.
"Even if I don’t think it will resolve all our problems and the horrible unemployment we’ve suffered since the end of the mines, it’s a little like, by choosing to set up the Louvre’s annex in Lens, rather than elsewhere, we feel like France is giving back to the region for all it gave to the country," Frédéric Labendzki, a local reporter whose father and grandfather worked at the former coal mine, told the news source.
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