Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tulle cloister, adjacent to Notre Dame Cathedral, is a religious complex whose legendary origins date back to the fourth century, attributed to Saint Martin de Tours. Its attested history begins in the VIth-VIIth centuries with Saint Calmine de Laguenne. The Saint-Martin-et-Saint-Michel Abbey, in Gothic style (11th century), adjoins the cathedral and houses a capitular hall decorated with 14th century paintings, venerating Notre-Dame de Tulle. The cloister, classified as a historical monument in 1862, blends Gothic elements and 19th century restorations, including the West Gallery rebuilt in 1928 to house the museum.

Founded in 1819 as a departmental museum, it settled permanently in the cloister in 1905 under the impulse of Émile Fage and the Society of Letters, Science and Arts of the Corrèze. In 1928 he became a municipal museum of the Cloister or a municipal museum of art and history, presenting eclectic collections: archaeology, sacred art, accordions, Tulle lace, and local history. The museum closed in 2022 to integrate the City of Accordion and the Heritages of Tulle, inaugurated in April 2024, bringing together scattered collections.

Galleries of the cloister, partially rebuilt, once housed collections reflecting Prehistory, Gallo-Roman Antiquity (Tintignac site), medieval history (troubadours, popes of Avignon), and local traditions (magic, companionship, gunmaking). The capitular room preserves two 14th century murals (Ceneum, Entrance of Christ to Jerusalem), while a medieval garden gathers medicinal and ornamental plants. The museum, labeled Musée de France in 2003, celebrated in 2005 the centenary of its installation in the Abbey.

The municipal restructuring project, validated in 2019, led to the creation of the City of Accordion and the Heritages of Tulle, inaugurated by Rachida Dati and François Hollande. This new equipment highlights three themes: accordion (linked to the Magein manufacture), Tulle's poinct lace, and the history of the gun factory. The cloister remains accessible but no longer has permanent collections.

Historically, the museum has benefited from notable patronage, such as that of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (14 works given between 1893 and 1904) and Pope Clement VI, from the region. The collections also included religious objects from local convents (1953-1988), musical instruments, and contemporary works related to Limousin. Since 2012, the museum had been operating through temporary exhibitions, before its final closure in 2022.

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