The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace near the Seine in Paris, France, which was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henry IV to Napoleon III. The palace was built in 1564, and its gradual expansion brought it to the western end of the Louvre courtyard. Along with other public buildings and monuments, the palace was burned in 1871 by the Paris Commune, a radical socialist government that ruled Paris from 18 March to 28 May in 1871. The fire lasted 48 hours and gutted most of the palace, as well as the Richelieu library of the Louvre which was connected to the palace. The ruins of the palace stood until 1882, when the French National Assembly voted for the demolition and sale of the ruins. The site of the palace then became part of the Tuileries Garden, a public garden built in 1564 and opened to the public in 1667.