Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of History and Archaeology of the Alpe d'Huez was created in 1982 to enhance the discoveries of the Argenteria de Brandis, a unique archaeological site in Europe. This medieval mining village, located at an altitude of 1,800 metres between the 10th and 14th centuries, housed miners exploiting silver sills under the mountain. The museum exhibits objects, models and explanatory panels to reconstruct their daily lives: ore sorting, handicrafts, religious practices and family life.

A section of the museum is dedicated to the transformation of the Alpe da Huez into a tourist resort. As early as 1935, the first skiers arrived, and the first ski lift (invented by Jean Pomagalski) was installed on the hillside of the Éclose, marking the beginning of the transformation of the chalets into hotels. The museum also evokes the winter trades of the 19th to 20th centuries, such as the manufacture of gloves or coal mining, as well as the impact of the Tour de France (since 1952) on the station's reputation.

Finally, an exhibition commemorates the summer of 1944 and the retreat of the military hospital of the Maquis of the Oisans in altitude, facing the German advance. This fact of resistance illustrates the region's strategic role during the Second World War. The museum, located at the Palais des sports et des congrès, offers a chronological path combining archaeology, ethnology and local history.

The site benefits from the label Musée de France and is located at 70 avenue de Brandes, supplemented by approximate GPS coordinates. Its museum is based on various collections: mining tools, costumes, furniture, and documents on winter sports and cycling.

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