Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Alsatian Museum of Strasbourg was founded in 1902 by the Society of the Alsatian Museum, born from the initiative of Alsatian artists and intellectuals, including Charles Spindler, anxious to preserve regional culture in the face of German annexation (1871-1918). The project emerged in the illustrated Alsatian Review, which published in 1900 the idea of an "Alsatian ethnographic museum". The founders, among them Drs. Pierre Bucher and Ferdinand Dollinger, as well as archaeologist Robert Forrer, formalized the creation at an assembly in November 1902. The first acquisitions include Spindler watercolours, offered in exchange for a social share. The museum opened in 1907 in a building at 23 quai Saint-Nicolas, chosen for its historic character.

During the First World War, the German authorities liquidated the managing company, and the City of Strasbourg took over the museum in 1917. Adolphe Riff, appointed curator in 1918, led him until 1952, a period marked by integration into the Museums of Strasbourg. Between 1969 and 1985, Georges Klein extended the collections to neighbouring buildings (Nos. 24-25) and modernized the exhibitions. The museum then becomes a reference of popular arts and traditions, highlighting Catholic, Protestant and Jewish cultures, as well as local know-how such as the winemaking or the production of Munster.

The collections, with 50,000 works, illustrate domestic life (furniture, faience stoves), social rites (marriages, births) and traditional toys, often linked to the change of nationality of Alsace. Reconstitutions of interiors and workshops, as well as religious objects (including a Jewish collection entrusted by the Society of Israel History of Alsace), enrich the journey. The museum closed in 2025 for renovation, with a reopening planned in 2027.

The history of the museum is also marked by symbolic events, such as the Peasant Kermesse of 1907, where the Strasbourg elite adopts traditional costumes to celebrate local culture. In 1908, the Bazar Erckmann-Chatrian paid tribute to patriotic novels, quietly affirming Francophile feelings under German domination. These events, although tolerated, underline the role of the museum as an actor of cultural resistance.

Temporary exhibitions, since the 1970s, explore a variety of themes: ceramics, costumes, popular imagery (especially that of Wissembourg, major centre in the 19th century), and Jewish and Christian traditions. The centennial in 2007 and recent partnerships (Festival du film fantastique, University of Strasbourg) confirm its anchoring in Strasbourg's cultural life. The building, partially classified as a historical monument, combines traditional architecture (columbing, wooden courtyards) and immersive scenography.

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