The base of the vanished tower

Follow the curve of the stonework. This circular shape is the surviving trace of the fortress’s central keep, a strong defensive tower within the larger enclosure. The low remains in front of you once supported something much taller. The tower was about fifteen metres across and thirty metres high. Try giving that circle its height again in your imagination. It would have been a substantial presence inside the fortress, rising above the place where you now stand. The outline makes that vanished volume easier to picture. François I, the French king who began reshaping the Louvre during the Renaissance, ordered the keep demolished in 1528. The royal building was changing, and the old defensive structure gave way as a different palace took shape. Look at the circular outline once more. You can see where the tower stood, even though its upper part has disappeared. François I’s decision removed a defensive structure while the Louvre was becoming a different kind of residence. The footprint lets us picture the space that was cleared.