Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée d'Ethnologie régionale de Béthune, originally named the Musée régional d'Ethnologie, is a unique municipal establishment in Hauts-de-France. It is distinguished by its ethnological approach to social and behavioural developments in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, from the 18th century to the present. Labeled Musée de France, it is known for the richness of its collections, which make it a reference point for understanding the cultural and material transformations of the region. Its installation in the chapel Saint-Pry, an ancient place of worship desacralized in typical red brick, offers it increased visibility after a period of low legibility.

Founded in 1970 by the Association Les Amis du musée de Bethune, the museum was originally an associative initiative. In 1981, its collections – made up of donations, successions and purchases of brocades between 1970 and 1987 – were transferred to the city of Bethune. These collections, estimated at 40,000 objects, are divided into three major collections: ethnographic (sixteenth century to present, including 7,000 glass plates), archaeological (Greco-Roman, Merovingian and medieval periods) and artistic. The museum also values intangible resources, such as oral archives or audiovisual recordings, accessible through its documentation centre.

The Saint-Pry Chapel, built in 1828 and renovated in 1992, is the last vestige of the former Bethune Hospital. This red brick building, characteristic of local architecture, now houses the museum's exhibitions. Although an extension project (2 000 m2 of exhibitions, an auditorium and a shop) has been mentioned since 2006, it has not yet been completed. Meanwhile, the museum organizes 2 to 4 temporary exhibitions per year in the chapel, with free access, while maintaining an active research activity despite the absence of a curator in title.

The museum's collections cover a variety of fields, from antique games to candy mussels to works by local artists such as Augustin Hanicotte. The documentation centre, open on request, offers over 1,500 books, 640 ethnographic surveys, 7,000 postcards, and audiovisual holdings. The establishment focuses on collective memory, whether it is related to work, leisure or popular traditions, while prioritising the acquisition of objects reflecting contemporary urban productions in the region.

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