Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée départemental des arts et traditions populaires du Perche was established in 1972 by the Association Les Amis du Perche, with the support of the Conseil général de l'Orne. Its initial objective was to preserve and enhance the ethnological, agricultural and artisanal heritage of the region by collecting tools, household objects and documents related to rural life between the 19th and 1960s. The collections, now owned by the Department, have nearly 10,000 inventoried pieces, allowing the reconstruction of traditional workshops.

In 1993, the museum expanded with the integration of the former Priory of St. Gauburge, founded in 1006 as a dependency of the Royal Abbey of St. Denis. After the Revolution, the monastic buildings – home of the monks, apothecary and historiated chimneys – were converted into a farm for two centuries. This priory, classified as a Historic Monument, became in 2000 the heart of the ecomuseum, offering a heritage setting to the collections.

The topics covered include agriculture (apple cultivation, ploughing, percheron horse), craftsmanship (vanery, pottery, carpentry), and the exploitation of local resources (wood, clay, sand). The museum, labeled Musée de France, enriches its funds every year through donations and acquisitions, while conducting transmission actions with the public.

The official address of the museum is fixed at Saint-Cyr-la-Rosière (code Insee 61005), in the department of l'Orne, although its original name refers to Appenai-sous-Bellême. This localization reflects the territorial anchor of the project, centred on the percheron grove and its social, economic and environmental history.

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