The Louvre-Lens Opens: A New Cultural Revolution in a Former Coal Mining Town

By TRAVELER Luxe Traveler

 

The Louvre in Paris is one of the most beautiful sights in France and a must-visit destination for art lovers around the world. To alleviate the ever-growing annual crowds, the Louvre launched a branch museum project in 2003, which eventually decided to settle in Lens, a former coal mining industrial city in northern France with a population of just 35,000. The Louvre-Lens not only aims to bring culture and art to a town with a long mining history but also values its excellent geographical location—about an hour and a half’s drive from Paris, and close to Brussels and London, making it extremely convenient for travelers.

The Japanese architectural firm SANAA, responsible for the design of the branch museum, successfully created a new Louvre that is closely connected to the surrounding natural environment while presenting a fresh look. Like a flowing river, the Lens branch museum, covering a total area of about 28,000 square meters and stretching 360 meters in length, uses a large amount of transparent glass curtains and polished aluminum panels to allow light to freely penetrate. Its soft, sleek lines and transparency break away from tradition by not setting up any walls, letting the artworks speak for themselves, thus constructing an unrestricted open space.

 

The Lens branch also brought Eugène Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” from the main Louvre, symbolizing that the brand-new museum will bring a new cultural revolution to this declining city. The architects also intentionally preserved the former coal mine shafts, turning them into a unique landscape in the park outside the museum, ensuring that visitors will not forget the city’s once glorious past.

 

 

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