Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The local history museum of Rueil-Malmaison is housed in the former town hall, built in 1868-1869 by architects Lebois and Prince at the request of Mayor Adrien Cramail. Inaugurated in 1869, the building received its municipal weapons by decree of Napoleon III. In 1978, which had become too small for a city of 60,000 inhabitants, it was replaced by a new town hall, and the old building was transformed into a museum, inaugurated in 1982 by Jacques Baumel, MNA.

The museum's collections come from the municipal holdings and the depots of the Société historique de Rueil. They include objects related to local history, such as a portrait of Richelieu, a collection of 1,600 figurines representing Napoleon's Great Army, and memories of the 1870 war. A room is dedicated to Édouard Belin (1876-1963), inventor of the belinographer, ancestor of modern fax machines, who lived in Rueil.

The museum also evokes prominent figures in the city, such as Josephine de Beauharnais, who lived there, and Richelieu, whose portrait is exhibited. Labelled "Museum de France", it covers various fields: archaeology, fine arts, military history, photography and technique. His official address is the Place du 11 novembre, although GPS coordinates also place him on Rue Paul Vaillant-Couturier.

The former Second Empire style town hall symbolizes the urban evolution of Rueil-Malmaison, moving from a small town to a dynamic city in the Parisian suburbs. The museum thus preserves collective memory, from Napoleonic periods to technical innovations of the twentieth century, while highlighting local and regional heritage.

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