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

facebook.com/Museeguerre1870

twitter.com/Museeguerre1870

Press pack

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.

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