Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Alfred-Danicourt Museum was founded in 1877 in Peronne, in the department of the Somme, thanks to the initiative of Alfred Danicourt, mayor of the city and passionate collector. Opened in the left wing of the city hall, it initially gathers archaeological collections and works of art, enriched by donations, private bequests and state deposits. When Danicourt died in 1887, his immense collections were left to the city, and the museum took his name. This heritage was almost entirely destroyed during the First World War: in 1917, 95% of the collections disappeared during the German retreat on the Hindenburg Line, and the building was reduced to ruins. Only 2 to 3% of the objects, buried in 1914 by the curator Felix Louis and the guardian Anatole Gronier, were saved.

Between the two wars, the museum partially rebuilds its collections through purchases and donations from contemporary artists, financed by war damage. However, he was not resettled in the city hall rebuilt in 1927, and his works remained scattered. During the Second World War, the 1914 surviving objects were again buried in 1941 to protect them. After the bombings of 1940, which seriously damaged the town hall, the museum was finally reopened in July 1955 in the reconstructed right wing, where it still stands today.

The museum's collections cover a wide range of periods, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, with flint tools, Gaulish coins (including the famous Statère de Vercingetorix), antique jewellery, and pictorial works by pictorial artists. The Médaillier Danicourt, an exceptional set of more than 400 Gaulish, Greek and Roman coins, is the centrepiece of the event. Part of the collections are digitized and accessible online via the Monande and Ambiani platforms. The museum also organizes temporary exhibitions, lectures and school activities, perpetuating its cultural role in the region.

The city of Peronne, marked by a turbulent history as a strong border square, sees its archaeological heritage highlighted through the museum. Local excavations, including those of the Gallo-Roman villa of Athias, as well as the Merovingian objects, bear witness to its importance since ancient times. The museum thus traces the evolution of the region, from prehistoric tools to medieval seats, passing through the inheritance of figures such as Queen Radegonde or Saint Fursy, buried in Peronne in 650.

Despite the successive destruction of the two world wars, the Alfred-Danicourt Museum remains a symbol of cultural resilience. Its history reflects the conservation efforts of figures like Felix Louis, as well as the city's desire to preserve a unique archaeological and artistic heritage. Today, it offers a complete panorama of local history, from ancient glyptic to picardic paintings, while integrating into a dynamic of digital and educational valorization.

The museum is labeled Musée de France and administratively depends on the town hall of Peronne. Its rooms, located on the first floor of the City Hall, house archaeological treasures saved twice from destruction, as well as works by regional artists. Its official address is Hôtel de ville, 80201 Péronne, and it is accessible to the public with renewed annual cultural programming.

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