Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

In 1971, the Valromey Sites and Monuments Association acquired a 16th-century house in Lochieu, then in ruins, to create a territorial museum. After three years of restoration, the museum opened in 1974, highlighting local daily life. The purchase and renovation of an adjacent barn in 1984-1986 expanded the space, while a convention with the Department of Ain in 1989 marked its transition to a departmental status, expanding its opening season and its name: from the Valromey Rural Museum, it became the Bugey-Valromey Museum.

From 1993 to 1996, the museum professionalizes with temporary exhibitions (Tas de bois in 1993 on the forest, Yvonne Récamier in 1995 on a regional artist) and animations. The donation of collections and buildings to the Department in 1996 formalized its status. The 500 m2 of permanent exhibitions, organized in reconstitutions (kitchen, bedroom, cellar, workshop), illustrate the rural society from the late 19th to the early 20th century, supplemented by archaeological objects and a room dedicated to childhood or religion.

The 2003-2004 renovations transform the old barn into thematic spaces: local history on the ground floor (with an animated model), traditional clothing on the second floor, and crafts (hemp painters, vanniers) on the last floor. The archaeology room becomes a gallery of paintings and engravings. In 2014, the annexes host agricultural and artisanal collections. The 7,298 objects, mostly ethnographic (tools, costumes, beliefs), also include 250 contemporary wood pieces and 100 paintings from the 19th to 21st centuries, reflecting the mountain identity of Bugey-Valromey.

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