Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of Natural History of Autun originated in 1811, when the municipality officially established a museum to structure existing collections. The latter, composed of coins, antique objects and natural history samples, already reflect a desire for scientific preservation. The institution settled in 1835 on the premises of the Town Hall, but space was quickly insufficient: as early as 1868, the bird section had to give its place to painting rooms, illustrating the tensions between disciplines within 19th-century museums.

In 1909, a turning point took place with the merger of municipal collections and those of the Society of Natural History, which took over their management. This partnership allows for better conservation and enhancement of specimens. A new course was taken in 1963 with the acquisition of a private hotel, finally offering a suitable space. The museum is inaugurated in these walls by Alain Poher, then President of the Senate, marking his definitive anchoring in the cultural landscape of Austria.

The collections of the Museum are distinguished by their exceptional richness: more than 800,000 samples covering all fields of the natural sciences. Among them, 10,000 bird specimens (birds, eggs, nests), 300,000 herbarium boards, and unique fossils bearing witness to regional geological history, including the Autun basin, the reference stratotype for the primary era. These elements make it a key place for research and pedagogy in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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