The chapter looks for the roots of modern museums, which were embedded in France at the time of the Napoleonic Wars and immediately afterwards in other European countries. Revolutionary and Napoleonic France heralded the birth of modern times in the fields of cultural policy, museums and the formation of national identities. Its real impact was, for example, an effort to preserve Europe's historical memory and to modernize the presentation of the cultural heritage to the European public, preserved for present and future generations. In the center of attention is the memory institution, which during its existence was unprecedented in Europe and subsequently became an inspiration for other memory institutions built in other European countries - Napoleon Museum, based in the Louvre Palace in Paris. The chapter analyses the significance of this modern public institution of European importance for French citizens and foreign visitors and its influence on the formation of national memory institutions (museums) in other European countries.