Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of City History and Ethnography of the Malouin Country came into being in 1838, when Saint Malo decided to create a gallery of portraits of famous men native to the city, including the portrait of Chateaubriand painted by Girodet, bequeathed by the writer. In 1862, under the leadership of collector Alexandre Vattemare, a cabinet of curiosities was set up in parallel with a deposit of art works in the old town hall. These collections, partially transferred in 1927 to the dungeon of the castle, suffered massive destruction in 1944 during the bombings, with the exception of the portrait of Chateaubriand, saved by the state.

In 1950, the city launched a new museum of history at the castle, officially controlled in 1954 as a first category museum. The acquisitions gradually enriched the exhibitions, with extensions to the Solidor Tower (1969-1970), dedicated to cap-horners as the International Museum of Long Course, then to the General Tower (1988). The museum specializes in maritime history, integrating in 2002 underwater archaeological deposits of the DRASM, resulting from excavations on two 18th century wrecks off Saint-Malo.

A scientific project validated in 2007 aims to modernize the museum, leading in 2016 to a study of programming for a new port equipment (bassin Duguay-Trouin). The master works contests, launched in 2017, foresee delivery in 2022. The museum highlights local history, from commercial armaments to race war, including explorations and artistic figures such as Paul Signac or Othon Friesz, while covering various fields: archaeology, fine arts, ethnology and naval science.

External links