Museum Foundation 1789 (Rvolution française) (≈ 1789)
Creation with various collections.
1944
Destroying bombardment
Destroying bombardment 1944 (≈ 1944)
Loss of buildings and collections.
1958
Reopening of Fine Arts
Reopening of Fine Arts 1958 (≈ 1958)
Installation at the Chartreuse.
1976
New site for natural sciences
New site for natural sciences 1976 (≈ 1976)
Transfer Saint-Albin Street.
2010
Transfer of archaeology
Transfer of archaeology 2010 (≈ 2010)
Transfer to Arkeos.
2014
Opening of Arkeos
Opening of Arkeos 2014 (≈ 2014)
New archaeological museum.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Information non disponible - No character cited
The source text does not mention any names.
Origin and history
The Musée des Sciences Naturelles et d'Archéologie de Douai was born in the French Revolution, when collections rich in archaeology, ethnography and natural sciences were gathered. These funds, initially held in the same establishment, were partially destroyed during a bombing in 1944, resulting in the loss of buildings and much of the objects exposed.
After the war, the surviving collections were reorganized: the Museum of Fine Arts reopened in 1958 at the Chartreuse de Douai, while the archaeology and natural sciences sections were installed in 1976 in a 19th-century mansion on Rue Saint-Albin. The archaeological collection was finally transferred in 2010 to the Department of Preventive Archaeology of the Douaisis, then exhibited at the Arkeos Museum from 2014.
Today, the Douai Museum stands out for its nature-related spaces, including two bird rooms, twenty-one tropical aquariums and a butterfly room. These collections are evidence of the desire to preserve and showcase a reconstructed scientific and natural heritage after the destruction of the Second World War.
