Fascinating Orsay Museum facts: history, art & other secrets

Before the building was an art museum, an elegant train station stood in its place, which saw millions of visitors go to Paris. This station was known as Gare d’Orsay, and it was the world’s first electrified urban rail terminal.

Although the station was converted into an art museum, the original design of the building was retained. The massive clock of the Orsay Museum also served as the clock of the original railway station that stood in its place.

The clock tower houses a secret spiral staircase leading to an observation deck. This opens up to panoramic views of Paris, including iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, and the surrounding cityscape.

By 1939, the Gare d’Orsay was no longer used as a train station. Instead, at the beginning of the Second World War, the station was converted into a mailing center to send parcels to prisoners.

Before the Orsay Museum came into existence, a few larger museums were running out of space for their collections. The National Museum of Modern Art and the Jeu de Paume placed a significant amount of artworks at the Orsay from the middle of the 19th century to the 20th century.

The original railway station was built by three architects - Emile Benard, Lucien Magne, and Victor Laloux. The station was built in just 2 years and was inaugurated on May 28, 1900.

The construction of the original railway station needed a staggering 12,000 tons of metal – that's more than the Eiffel Tower itself, which used a mere 7,000 tons! This colossal structure, spanning an impressive 574 feet long and 246 feet wide, stands tall as one of Europe's largest museums.

The Orsay Museum was designed to make the best use of natural light. This saw the use of almost 35,000 square meters of glass - equivalent to five full-length football fields! The extensive use of glass allows natural light to easily enter the building, avoiding the use of too many artificial lights.

Owing to the massive size of the museum and a collection that included 2000 pieces of art and 600 sculptures, the curators needed enough time to put everything perfectly in place. This took 6 months and the museum finally opened in December 1986.

The Orsay Museum is home to some of the best Impressionist collections of art from the 19th century. Its collection includes Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night on the Rhone, Lunch on the Grass by Edouard Manet, the Bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir, and the Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet, to name a few.