Newsletter

Franco-Prussian War Museum – Loigny-la-Bataille

©Musée de la guerre de 1870 – Loigny-la-Bataille

The Musée de la Guerre de 1870 invites you to discover the history of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). From the banks of the Rhine to the plains of Beauce, follow in the footsteps of the Prussian and Bavarian armies and grasp the importance of this conflict in French and European history.

The battlefield, the commemorative church of Loigny, its crypt and ossuary form part of the visitor trail.

 


> Remembrance Trail Battle of Loigny, 2 December 1870
Length of tour: 30 mins by car - 1hr30mins by bike - 4 hrs on foot

 

 

A century-old museum

 

 

The Loigny-la-Bataille museum collection was constituted in the days that followed the battle. General de Sonis, wounded in the fighting, spent his convalescence in the home of Abbé Theuré, the vicar of the village. Impressed by de Sonis’s account, Theuré began collecting objects found on the battlefield. Successive vicars opened a first museum in 1907, then a second in 1956. Over a century, the collection grew with bequests from the families of soldiers who fought in the battle.

 

A new interactive and immersive museum

 

Since September 2017, a new museum space of 240 sqm has been open to the public, divided into a history area and a remembrance area.

 

In the history area, the Franco-Prussian War is told through a series of objects that bear witness to the fierceness of the fighting:  helmets, uniforms, rifles, bayonets, shells, etc.
From Alsace to the Loire, visitors are able to retrace the steps of the armies on touch tables and re-enact the Battle of Loigny on the French or Prussian side. An immersive spectacle combining images and objects puts visitors among the soldiers on the Loigny battlefield, on 2 December 1870.

 

In the remembrance area, visitors are invited to follow in the footsteps of General de Sonis, whose sacrifice at Loigny saved the French army from annihilation. The story of General de Charette’s Papal Zouaves is also recounted: from their formation to defend the Pope in the 1860s, to their heroic acts on the battlefield in the Franco-Prussian War.

 

The visit proceeds with a tour of the church, crypt and ossuary, which holds the bones of 1 260 French and Prussian soldiers. Finally, this remembrance section gives visitors a sense of the decisive role played by a conflict that is often forgotten, yet which sowed the seeds of the world wars of the 20th century.

 

Virtual reality tour of the battlefield

 

The battlefield and its funerary and commemorative monuments are accessible to visitors.
As of 2019, virtual reality brings the battlefield to life.

 

The principle is simple: there are a series of terminals dotted around the battlefield, which visitors scan using tablets provided by the museum. Virtual reality then reproduces the battlefield and the village of Loigny, just as they were in 1870.

 

French, Prussian and Bavarian soldiers come alive and visitors relive the noise and fury of the fighting: skirmishes in the village cemetery (now no longer there), shells exploding in the fields, infantry charges across the plain.

 

Conferences and temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

 

The museum holds exhibitions, conferences and activities linked to the arts, history and French and European current affairs.

 


 

Programmation 2019-2020

 

Exposition « Guerre Miniature » : Soldats de plomb, Lego et Playmobil en première ligne

Exposition > 31 octobre 2019 - 5.50 €

 

Atelier LEGO - Lundi 26 août 2019 - 14h30-16h30 - 5,50 €

Atelier dans le cadre de l’exposition « Guerre Miniature » - Soldats de plomb, Lego et Playmobil en première ligne

 

Merveilles de l'art sur les chemins du pèlerinage de Compostelle

Conférence par Bernard de Montgolfier, conservateur honoraire du patrimoine       
Dimanche 15 septembre 2019 - 15h30 -
2,50 €

 

La bataille de Loigny en Wargame – Animation dans le cadre des Journées Européennes du Patrimoine
Samedi 21 septembre 2019 - 13h-18h30 - Gratuit


«  Atelier Lego Briques en vrac » – Animation dans le cadre des Journées Européennes du Patrimoine         
Dimanche 22 septembre 2019 - 14h30-18h30 - Gratuit

              

Un tigre chez le Roi-Soleil : Clemenceau et le traité de Versailles – Conférence par Samüel Tomei, Historien
Dimanche 13 octobre 2019 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

La fin d'un monde : La chute du mur de Berlin – Conférence par Clément Wingler, Historien

Dimanche 20 octobre 2019 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

Atelier LEGO - Lundi 28 octobre 2019 - 14h30-16h30 - 5,50 €

 

Le monde selon Napoléon III -  Conférence par Eric Anceau

Dimanche 9 février 2020 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

Le faste impérial – Conférence par Xavier Mauduit         

Dimanche 8 mars 2020 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

Napoléon III et Gambetta, la République contre l'Empire             
Exposition : 150 ans de la guerre de 1870 - Avril 2020          

 

4 août 1870 : Le drame de Wissembourg – Conférence par Abel Douay
Dimanche 29 mars 2020 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

Les raisons de la débâcle -  Conférence par Louis Delperrier        
Dimanche 26 avril 2020 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

L'héritage de l'aigle : 150 ans après, que reste-t-il du Second Empire ? Conférence par David Chanteranne
Dimanche 17 mai 2020 - 15h30 - 2,50 €

 

Les secours et soins aux blessés : de Crimée à Loigny. Conférence par le Colonel Pauchard
vendredi 7 juin 2020 - 15h30 - 2.50 €
 

 


 

Sources : ©Musée de la guerre de 1870 – Loigny-la-Bataille

 

 

facebook.com/Museeguerre1870

twitter.com/Museeguerre1870

 

Press pack

 


 

> Return to results

Practical information

Address

Place du 2 décembre 1870 28140
Loigny-la-Bataille
02 37 36 13 25

Prices

- Tarif plein : 5,50 € - Tarif réduit* : 2,50 € *6-17 ans, anciens combattants, étudiants, demandeurs d’emplois - Gratuité pour les enfants jusqu’à 5 ans inclus et pour les membres de l’association Les Amis de Sonis-Loigny - Tarif Pass Dunois : 2.50 € - Tarif CNAS : 4 €

Weekly opening hours

Du 1er avril au 31 mai et du 1er septembre au 31 octobre : Du mardi au vendredi : 14h30 – 18h30 - Le dimanche et jours fériés (sauf 1er mai) : 14h30 – 18h30 - Fermé le lundi et le samedi (ouvert le lundi de Pâques) Du 1er juin au 31 août : - Du mardi au vendredi : 10h-12 h & 14h30-18h30 - Samedi, dimanche et jours fériés : 14h30-18h30 - Fermé le lundi (ouvert le lundi de Pentecôte) - Ouvert toute l’année pour les groupes et les scolaires - Ouverture exceptionnelle le premier dimanche de décembre (commémoration de la bataille de Loigny)

Fermetures annuelles

Du 1er novembre au 31 mars * IMPORTANT * le Musée reste ouvert TOUTE l’année pour les groupes et les scolaires (sur réservation)

Châteaudun

Place du 18 octobre - Châteaudun. Source : carte postale

This walk is dedicated to the events of the Franco-Prussian War that marked Châteaudun

Memory Trail in the town This walk is dedicated to the events of the Franco-Prussian War that marked Châteaudun.

Five illustrated markers relate the inhabitants' heroic defence against the Prussians on 18 October. The first three are in Place du 18 Octobre, the fourth on Rue Jean Moulin and the fifth next to the defence monument on the Mall.
On 3 October 1877 a decree entitled the town to add the Legion of Honour cross on its coat of arms in recognition of its bravery. In 1884 Place Royale was renamed Place du 18 Octobre in remembrance of that day. The events On 20 September groups of highly mobile Uhlans blockaded Paris before advancing in Beauce. From 26 September 1870 to 6 January 1871 the Prussian army relentlessly crossed the Eure-et-Loir department in every direction. Since early October Châteaudun had been under the command of General Ernest de Lipowski. On the 28th the besieged town's residents put up barricades in the streets. On 18 October just 1,200 snipers, sedentary national guardsmen and firemen defended Châteaudun. A military force of 12,000 Prussians under the command of General von Wittich, armed with 24 cannons and two howitzers, showed up in the east. Seven cannons fired at the railway station at around noon.
At around 6pm the Rue Galante (Rue de Civry) barricade, which was isolated and too far forward, gave way. The Prussian thrust could no longer be repelled. The snipers retreated to the town centre, despite the darkness. The Prussians tried to overrun the square. A terrible night battle ensued. The defenders pushed the enemy back in the Rues de Chartres (Rue Jean Moulin) and d'Orléans (Rue de la République) three times. They fought by torchlight and bodies literally covered the ground. The painter Philippoteaux immortalised the fighting (the original is in the Châteaudun mayor's office). Despite the last bursts of courage, the defenders had to give up the now-hopeless struggle.
Shells and incendiary rockets rained down on the town at the rate of 10 a minute all day, ripping open roofs and destroying houses. On the night of 18-19 October the Prussians set the town on fire, pillaging, raping and driving out the inhabitants. At the Hôtel du Grand Monarque, where 70 Prussians had just been served an excellent dinner, the owner threw herself at General von Wittich's feet, begging him to spare her business. But the Duke of Saxony set the curtains on fire and the building quickly burned to the ground. Atrocities lasted all night and the next day. A monument to the victims and defenders was erected in Champdé Cemetery in 1873. A national fund-raising drive was launched to build a better monument to Châteaudun's valiant resistance. It was inaugurated on the Mall on 18 October 1897.
Antonin Mercié sculpted the bronze statue of a woman with a wall crown on her head representing the town of Châteaudun. Seriously wounded, she collapses and leans on a sniper from Paris, who, with his rifle on his shoulder, is still holding out and using up his last cartridges.

> Return to results

Practical information

Address

place du 18 octobre 28200
Châteaudun

Weekly opening hours

Accès libre

Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Histoire Naturelle de Châteaudun

Copper Prussian helmet plate. 19th century. © Bénédicte Huart

Since 1890, the museum has preserved a rich and diverse heritage, with a leading Franco-Prussian War collection.

Housed in a former school since 1890, the current town museum of Châteaudun was set up in 1864 by the local archaeological society, to conserve local archaeological finds. Over time, the collections have been added to by Egyptian and African objects and, in particular, pieces connected to local history during the Franco-Prussian War.

History of the museum and collections The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Histoire Naturelle de Châteaudun was founded in 1864 by the Société Dunoise d’Archéologie, with the goal of preserving local heritage. From the beginning, the archaeological society received many donations from scholars, collectors and scientists.

Among them was the archaeologist Émile Amélineau (1850-1915), who discovered the royal tombs of Abydos in Upper Egypt (1st and 2nd Thinite dynasties). Archaeology and Egyptology
therefore form the cornerstones of today’s collections.

During the course of the 20th century, the museum of the Société Dunoise grew, as paintings, art objects and birds were added to its collections. Meanwhile, the town of Châteaudun received donations and bequests, as well as public loans: the Campana collection, 19th-century paintings, etc. The original museum, housed in the town hall, was transferred for a time to the Chateau of Châteaudun. Then, on 19 August 1890, the town council and the Société Dunoise signed an agreement for the museum to be installed in a former school. In 1897, the size of Marquis Léonce de Tarragon’s bequest to the town meant that an extension to the building was required, with a gallery containing 3 000 specimens of birds and mammals, which are still the making of the museum’s natural history collection today.

In 1952, the Société Dunoise d’Archéologie entrusted the collections to the municipality, while maintaining ownership. The museum therefore came under municipal control. Since then, many new acquisitions have added to the collections, not least the Wahl-Offroy donation in 1971, of art objects from the Near and Far East: ceramics, miniatures, weapons, etc. With a room devoted to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and a reproduction of a Beauce interior from the early 20th century, Châteaudun’s town museum presents a diverse selection of objects that show the tastes of collectors and donors past and present.

The Franco-Prussian War room Overlooking Rue Louis Baudet, the museum’s second room commemorates Châteaudun’s resistance when it was besieged by the Prussians in 1870. On 18 October that year, the town was attacked by a 12 000-strong German infantry division. A group of 1500 francs-tireurs from Paris, national guards and firemen put up a brave defence. At their head was the Count of Lipowski, a graduate of Saint-Cyr military academy, decorated with the Légion d’Honneur. After the siege, General Von Wittich’s victorious troops set fire to the town, and its motto became Extincta revivisco, meaning “I am born again from my ashes”.

Paintings, engravings, objects, weapons and headdresses present this dark chapter of local and national history. Moullin’s oils and gouaches and Montarlot’s engravings depicting the barricades complement the series of photographs showing the destruction. The display pays tribute to the key figures of Laurentine Proust, Captain Ledeuil and General Lipowski. In the display cases, military paraphernalia is presented alongside mementos gathered from the rubble of the houses. Finally, at the back of the room is the bell from the town hall belltower, dated 1588, damaged by shellfire.
 

Musée Municipal des Beaux-Arts et d’Histoire Naturelle

3, rue Toufaire - 28200 Châteaudun - Tel.: +33 (0)2 37 45 55 36 Fax: +33 (0)2 37 45 54 46 (town hall – specify “Service Musée”)

Email: musee@mairie-chateaudun.fr

 

Opening hours:

Open daily (except Tuesdays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May), 10 am to 12.30 pm
/ 1.30 pm to 6.30 pm, from 1 April to 30 September, and 10 am to 12 noon / 2 pm to 5 pm, from 1 October
to 31 March. Open Monday to Sunday, non-stop from 10 am to 6.30 pm, in July and August.

Group bookings for adults or children can be made on any
day except Tuesday.

Learning materials available on request.

 

Admission:

Adults: € 3.32 Under 18s: Free Guided tours (for groups of
more than 20 people only): € 2.99 School parties Châteaudun school: Free Others: € 1.29

Cycle of four themed conferences: € 43.85

Combo ticket: Museum and Chateau of Châteadun: € 7

Town of Châteaudun

 

> Return to results

Practical information

Address

3, rue Toufaire - 28200
chateaudun
02 37 45 55 36

Prices

Plein tarif: 4 €Tarif réduit: 2,30 €Tarif groupe: 3,47 €Gratuit pour les moins de 18 ans

Weekly opening hours

Du 1er avril au 30 septembre :10h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 18h30 Du 1er octobre au 31 mars :10h à 12h et de 14h à 17hEn juillet-août : 10h à 18h30

Fermetures annuelles

Le mardi, les 25 décembre, 1er janvier et 1er mai