Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Charles-Friry Museum occupies an ancient canonical house built in 1750 in the canonial district of Remiremont, surrounding the abbey. This residence, inhabited by the Countess of Briey (last dean of the chapter from 1759 to 1789), was acquired in 1833 by Charles Friry, magistrate, artist and collector. For fifty years he gathered paintings and art objects, becoming a recognized curator of Vosges antiquities. The house was transformed into a diocesan museum in 1970, before becoming a municipal museum in 1985, labeled "Museum of France" and "Maison des Illustres" in 2021.

Pierre Waidmann, grandson of Charles Friry and artist, built the house in the 19th century, adding a brick workshop around 1884. In 1958 Colette Dussaux, Friry's great-granddaughter, bequeathed the estate to the diocese, leading to the opening of the museum in 1970. A partial dispersal of the collections (Waidmann fonds, Friry engravings) took place in 1976. The museum was modernized in 2020, with new rooms dedicated to Georges de La Tour, the Remiremont hospital (pharmaceutical sites classified as Historical Monuments), and the reconstituted workshop of Pierre Waidmann.

The permanent collections cover ancient art (XVth–XVth centuries) and modern art (XIXth–XXth centuries), with major pieces such as Georges de La Tour's Pouch Vieller (circa 1640), acquired by Friry in 1846. The park preserves two 18th-century rock fountains (Neptune and Amphitrite), classified as Historic Monuments in 1966. Temporary exhibitions highlight local artists, such as Jean Montémont or Pierre Waidmann, while an interactive terminal gives access to digital archives (photographs, illuminated manuscripts).

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