The Louvre Museum is preparing to close the gallery on the first floor due to bad beams

Photo: https://www.louvre.fr

Paris - One of the galleries on the first floor of the Louvre Museum in Paris will be closed to the public for preventive reasons after an inspection revealed the fragility of some beams. However, it is not yet clear when and for how long this will happen, AFP reported today, citing a press release.

"The second above-ground floor of the Sully wing has been under special construction supervision for several years. Due to its complex architectural design, as well as construction work and modifications in the 1930s, the floors of the second floor of this wing show weaknesses. Due to recent and unforeseen changes, the museum was alerted to the particular fragility of some beams supporting the second floor of the southern wing,” the institution's press release states.

The closure concerns the Campana gallery, which contains nine halls of ancient Greek pottery. The gallery is to be closed during the investigation into the causes of the mentioned fragilities, but a Louvre spokesperson was unable to specify when this will happen and for how long, according to AFP.

The most visited museum in the world bases its decision on the conclusions of a report it received from a technical design office on Friday. Based on this, it also decided to block access to offices on the second floor, and 65 employees will have to vacate these spaces within three days.

The Campana gallery is located in the same southern wing, which on October 19 was breached by a group of criminals who stole eight historical crown jewels valued at an estimated 88 million euros (over 2.1 billion CZK). The stolen jewelry has not yet been found.

Louvre head Laurence des Cars alerted the Ministry of Culture in January to the very dilapidated state of the museum. Shortly after this warning, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the start of extensive renovation and modernization of the institution, focusing primarily on the Sully wing. The costs amount to at least 1.15 billion euros (over 27.7 billion CZK).