Proposed by Louis XIV in 1670 as a home for "invalids" - disabled and impoverished war veterans, Les Invalides was designed by Libéral Bruant and completed in 1676.
That same year King Louis XIV - the Sun King - charged architect Jules Hardouin Mansart with the task of creating a separate private chapel at the Invalides for exclusive use of the royal family. It is this gold-domed church, completed in 1708 by de Cotte after Mansart died, that many individuals recognize. Inspired by Rome's St. Peter's Basilica, this chapel, known as Église du Dôme, is considered one of the world's most exciting examples of French Baroque architecture.