Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Morbihan Polymathic Society, founded in 1826 by fifteen local scholars, including Abbé Joseph Mahé, is dedicated to the study of science, arts and philology. From its beginnings, it gathers natural collections (plants, rocks, animals) and creates a library enriched by the foundations of the clergy and the emigrant nobility. In 1828 she organized public courses and laid the foundations for a future museum.

In 1853, the Polymathic Society inaugurated its archaeological museum, merging in 1859 with the Breton Association. The excavations carried out by its members, from a variety of backgrounds (doctors, notaries, curés), reveal more than 150 Morbihan sites, from neolithic to Gallo-Roman times. The collections are also enriched with exotic objects reported by travellers, reflecting distant civilizations.

In 1912, the Society acquired the Château-Gaillard, an urban mansion of the 15th century, to install its seat, library and museum. It now houses nearly 40,000 pieces, ranging from neolithic axes to 17th-century paintings and oceanic artifacts. Among its treasures are the cabinet decorated with 57 religious panels and the carnacian funeral furniture (pearls, polished axes).

The museum illustrates both the local history, from the tumulus of Carnac to the modern era, and the openness to the world thanks to donations from travellers. Its building, a former hotel of the Parliament of Brittany, preserves a medieval structure and remarkable woodwork, bearing witness to its prestigious past.

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