Mus??e d'Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine. It holds mainly French art from 1848 to 1914: paintings, sculptures, furniture, objets d'art and photography. It has one of the leading collections of Impressionist art in the world.

The building was originally a railway station and associated hotel, built in 1900 by Victor Laloux, and served as a terminus for the Chemins de Fer de Paris a Orleans (Paris-Orléans Railway). It was known as Gare d'Orsay, and was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world, opened May 28, 1900. [1] The station closed to long-distance traffic in 1939, though some suburban trains continued to use it, and the hotel closed at the beginning of 1973.

The former station was used as a collection point for the dispatch of parcels to prisoners of war during the Second World War, and after the end of the war as a reception centre for liberated prisoners on their return; a plaque on the side of the building facing the River Seine commemorates this latter use. It served as the setting for several films, including Orson Welles' version of Franz Kafka's The Trial. It was at the Gare d'Orsay that General Charles de Gaulle held the press conference at which he announced his "availability to serve his country" (effectively placing himself at the head of a coup d'état) on 19 May 1958, ushering in the end of the French Fourth Republic.

The building was listed as a historical monument in 1978, and re-opened as a museum in December 1986. The chief architect was the Italian Gae Aulenti. There is a huge clock which still works in the main terminal of the museum.