The origin of the residence of Compiègne merges with that of the
monarchy and goes back to the Merovingian dynasty. King Charles V, Louis XV and
Napoleon I all participated in the expansion of the castle. It welcomed the
second wife of Napoleon, the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, in 1810.
After the fall of the imperial regime in 1870, the castle of Compiegne became a
national museum. A policy of restitution of the historic states is conducted
there since 1945.