Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée de l'Ardenne is a municipal establishment classified among the Museums of France, integrated into the buildings of Place Ducale in Charleville-Mézières. It occupies several buildings built between the 17th and 20th centuries, organized around an inner courtyard and a garden. Ranked a historic monument in 1944 and registered in 1980, the site was renovated in the 1990s by architects François Peiffer, Bruno Freycenon, Franck Plays and Christian Vanelle, who added a contemporary extension in glass and steel. Inaugurated in 1994, it extends over 3,400 m2 and offers a chronological route, from the archaeological basement to floors dedicated to industry and fine arts.

Archaeological collections from local excavations include jewellery, weapons, everyday objects and sculptures, with two major discoveries: the Bourcq and Semide tank tombs. The ground floor highlights a Gallo-Roman fresco of 6x8 meters, discovered in Montcy-Saint-Pierre, restored via a video mapping. A room also features merovingian backgrounds, including a blown glass jug containing its miniature replica. The first floor houses a collection of weapons produced by the Charleville manufacture, including the 1777 model exported to the United States by Lafayette, as well as private collector's pieces.

The museum also preserves an 18th-century apothecary (woodworks and 120 pots of faience), a numismatic collection of the principalities of Arches, Château-Regnault and Bouillon, and works by Ardennes artists (paintings by Couvelet, Damascus, Croisy; sculptures by Colle). Two rooms are dedicated to puppets, with world pieces and temporary exhibitions related to the World Puppet Theatre Festival. The second floor evokes the industrial heritage (Corneau-Deville floor, stained glass windows of the Château Marcadet). The museum organizes 3 to 5 temporary exhibitions per year, often linked to local history or regional artists.

Among the notable exhibitions are "Jean Héraux" (2007, photos of the Ardennes at war and floods of 1941), "Lafleur, Tchanchès et les autres" (2017, puppets of the North-East European), "Finish the war" (2018, centenary of the Armistice 1918), or "Robert Roynette" (2019, modern Ardennes painter). An innovative exhibition in 2018 ("The essential is invisible") made available 12 3D paintings for the visually impaired, in collaboration with the association Valentin Haüy. These tactile supports are now integrated into the permanent journey.

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