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Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer dans le Pas-de-Calais

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Pas-de-Calais

Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer

    7 Rue de Bernet
    62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer
Ownership of the municipality
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Château-Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer
Crédit photo : Velvet - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
1400
1500
1800
1900
2000
1227
Construction of the castle
1394-1416
Reshaping by the Duke of Berry
1825
Museum Foundation
1861
Greek ceramics
1875
Pinart collection depot
1988
Installation in the castle
2025
Don Baud-Jacot
2024-2025
Major Gifts Inuit Art
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Castle (except classified parts); Upper Town compound: inscription by order of 10 June 1926; All facades and roofs; entry portal; bridge; bass room called La Barbière; windows of the large room above the lower room. (cad. AC 206, 207): classification by order of 6 October 1977

Key figures

Philippe Hurepel - Count of Boulogne Commander of the castle in 1227.
Auguste Mariette - Egyptologist Dona 150 Egyptian objects at the museum.
Alphonse Pinart - Explorer and ethnographer Collecta masks sugpiaq in Alaska (1871).
Charles Lebeau - Patron Lega paintings and sculptures (1916).
Alice Rogoff - Collector Dona 100 Inuit works in 2024.
Exékias - Ancient Greek painter Author of the Ajax Suicide.
Chevalier Leroy de Barde - Collector Founded the Oceanian nucleus (1825).

Origin and history

The Boulogne-sur-Mer Castle Museum is a municipal museum of art and archaeology established since 1988 in the old Comtal castle of the city, integrated with the 13th century ramparts. This castle, built around 1227 by Philippe Hurepel, Count of Boulogne, underwent major changes in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, notably under the Duke of Berry (1394-1416) and the Dukes of Aumont under Louis XIV. Transformed into a barracks and then into a prison until 1973, it now houses a museum founded in 1825, rich in archaeological and artistic collections.

The museum is distinguished by its four departments: Mediterranean archaeology (with Greek ceramics and an Egyptian mummy), extra-European ethnography (including a major Inuit collection), fine arts (paintings and sculptures of the 19th and 20th centuries), and local history (from Roman Antiquity to the Middle Ages). The collection of Greek ceramics, second in France after the Louvre, includes rare pieces such as the Suicide of Ajax d'Exékias. The Inuit department, enriched by donations from Alphonse Pinart and Alice Rogoff, is one of the largest in the world.

The origin of the collections dates back to 1825, with the acquisition of the cabinet of curiosities of the knight of Barde, composed of oceanic objects. Auguste Mariette, an Egyptologist from Bolon, also contributed by offering 150 Egyptian objects. The museum benefited from prestigious bequests, such as Charles Lebeau's in 1916, including works by Courbet, Corot, Rodin and Sisley. Temporary exhibitions, such as Giinaquq (2009) on Alaskan masks or Te Moana (2007) on oceanic arts, highlight its diverse heritage.

The castle, classified as a Historical Monument in 1977, preserves remarkable architectural elements, such as the vaulted room La Barbière and a carved cochère door. Its inscription 1231, added in 1811, commemorates its construction. Gallo-Roman and medieval remains, visible in the underground, bear witness to local history, from the ancient Bononia to the medieval city. The partnership with the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Alaska, strengthens its international reach, particularly for the preservation of Sugpiat masks collected by Pinart.

Recent exhibitions, such as Alaska Past/Present (2016) or As a Doopal Reflection (2023-2026), illustrate the cultural dynamics of the museum. Recent donations, such as those of Claude Baud and Michel Jacot in 2025 (350 contemporary Inuit works), enrich his Arctic collections. The museum remains a key player in the dissemination of Inuit and ocean art, while valuing local heritage, from Gallo-Roman excavations to paintings on the Opal Coast.

External links

Conditions of visit

  • Conditions de visite : Ouvert toute l'année
  • Ouverture annuelle : Ouvert tous les jours sauf le mardi
  • Basse saison : du 1er octobre au 30 avril De 10h00 à 12h30 et de 14h30 à 17h30
  • Haute saison : du 2 mai au 30 septembre De 10h00 à 18h00
  • Tarif individuel : 5€ tarif plein; 3€ tarif réduit
  • Contact organisation : 03.21.10.02.20 / 22