Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The museum of the Foreign Legion, installed in Aubagne in the Bouches-du-Rhône, was born from the honorary hall of the 1st foreign regiment created in 1892 in Sidi bel-Abbès, Algeria. It took its present name in 1935 and was inaugurated on November 11 of that year, with three rooms dedicated to old, modern countryside and military citations. This museum is the direct heir of legionary traditions, repatriated to France in 1962 after Algeria's independence.

In 1964, the first stone of the new museum was laid at the Camp de la Demande in Aubagne, under the chairmanship of Pierre Messmer, Minister of the Armed Forces. The museum officially opened its doors on 30 April 1966, after work to accommodate collections transferred from Puyloubier. In 2003, a major restructuring was undertaken, leading to the creation of the Society of Friends of the Museum of the Foreign Legion (SAMLE), which supports the institution financially and legally. The museum obtained the label Musée de France in 2011.

Closed in 2012 for extension work, the museum doubles its surface with a new wing of 1,000 m2, inaugurated on 30 April 2013 during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Camerone. It reopened to the public on 7 May 2014. The museum consists of a permanent three-period course (1831-1914, 1914-1945, 1945-2000), thematic spaces, and a hall of honour where the legionaries sign their contract. The crypt houses the names of the officers who died for France and the wooden hand of Captain Danjou, an iconic relic.

Outside, the court exhibits cannons and tombstones reported from distant countryside. The Monument to the Dead of the Legion, carved by Charles Henry Pourquet and inaugurated in 1931 in Sidi bel-Abbès, was rebuilt in Aubagne in 1963. Representing a map of four legionaries, it symbolizes the great periods in the history of the Legion: the conquest of Algeria, the campaigns of the Second Empire, the colonial conquests and the First World War. This monument, classified in 2020, is a central element of the museum.

The museum also offers various temporary exhibitions, such as The Legion in the Skin (2013), Nice gesture: Hans Hartung (2016), or Invictus: Roman legions and Legion today (2020-2021). These cultural events attract approximately 25,000 annual visitors, including students and researchers. The documentation centre, with 4,500 books and 10,000 iconographic pieces, supports research on the Legion.

A second space, the Legionary Uniform Museum in Puyloubier, completes the offer with 120 models illustrating the evolution of outfits since 1831. Created by a passionate Raymond Guyader, this unique museum houses 18,000 pieces presented on 150 models. Together, these sites are a complete tribute to the history, traditions and sacrifices of the legionaries, from their creation to the present day.

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