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The interior of the Opera Garnier opened 1875 shows was real splendour and richness means.

Buildings like these – mostly created in the final days of "old Europe" – show all the might, culture and richness of these old imperial nations.

In these days the splendour of the nation was no longer just a privilege of Royals and the ruling elite. Opera houses and museums were opened to the public – which meant mostly the emerging bourgeois middle class.