Construction of private hotel XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles (≈ 1850)
The museum's present seat, restored in the 19th century.
1866
Creation of the museum
Creation of the museum 1866 (≈ 1866)
Municipal subscription for a local museum.
1869
Donation from Berthet
Donation from Berthet 1869 (≈ 1869)
Natural history integrated with collections.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Joubert - Local figure honoured
Tribute in the history section.
Édouard Berthet - Scientific donor
Office of natural history offered in 1869.
Chintreuil - Landscape painter
Central works of art collections.
Origin and history
The Chintreuil Museum came into being in 1866, when the Pont-de-Vaux City Council launched an subscription to create a space dedicated to the city's illustrious figures. The objective was twofold: to stimulate youth emulation and celebrate local identity. Organised around four axes — fine arts, local history, regional ethnography and natural history — it settles in a mansion from the 17th–15th century, restored in the 19th century, whose classical facade and ironwork honour staircase testify to the prestige of the past.
The fine arts section celebrates the works of landscape artist Chinreuil and regional artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Local history is incarnated by 21 different personalities, including Joubert, while the ethnology exhibits Bressan capes and traditional objects. Finally, Edward Berthet's cabinet of curiosities, given in 1869, forms the heart of natural history collections, complemented by remarkable local ecosystems such as the meadows of the Val de Saône or the dunes of Sermoyer.
Listed as the Musée de France, the building combines architectural heritage — roofing in scaffold tiles, ramp in ironwork — and eclectic collections. The themes discussed, from Bressans costumes to malacology, reflect a desire for territorial and scientific anchoring. The historic address, 66 rue Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, and its current website (www.musee-chinreuil.com) perpetuate this cultural mission, which was initiated in the 19th century.
