In the late 1660s, the Thirty Years’ War left hundreds of disabled and destitute soldiers in the streets of Paris. They often lingered on the Pont Neuf and were a source of disorder. King Louis XIV tried to place them in abbeys, but the veterans did not take to monastic life well, preferring to beg on the streets. In an effort to improve the image of his armies, Louis XIV established in 1670 a project for a hospital and hospice in Paris to remove them from the streets and offer them a dignified end to their lives. This was to be the Hôtel Royal des Invalides.