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The Museum of the Middle Ages could be in no other place than a medieval mansion. Before it was known as the Museum of Cluny, since its original owner had been Pierre de Chalus, Abbot of Cluny. The abbot had bought the ruins that were left standing in this area in 1330.
Around the building some medieval gardens have been recreated, in the style of the period.
In the museum you can appreciate a wonderful collection of medieval art and Gallic-Roman remains.
The history of this museum dates back to 200 BC when some Gallic-Roman baths were built. These baths were in operation for one hundred years until barbarians sacked and set fire to them. The remains of these baths can currently be seen in the museum.
The medieval mansion that makes up the main body of the museum was built around 1500, at the behest of Jacques d’Amboise, Abbot of Cluny.
Like so many other monuments, this mansion also suffered the blows of the French Revolution. In 1789 it was laid siege to and sold by the State. Years later Louis XVIII ordered the baths to be dug up.
But the history of this place as a museum really starts in 1833, when the mansion was bought by Alexandre du Sommerard, a great collector of medieval objects. After his death the State acquired the site and its contents and turned it into a museum.
The museum guards one of the most splendid collections of medieval art in the world, including tapestries, canvases, precious metals, ceramics, sculpture, sacred objects...
Among the jewels of the museum we would highlight a fabulous collection of tapestries whose value lies in their magnificent state of conservation. The most notable are the six that make up “The Lady of the Unicorn” series. Dated at the end of the 16th century they are notable, above all, for their elegance and harmony in the representation of plants, flowers, animals and people. Allegories of the five senses are illustrated.
Arc de Triomphe (18)
Church of The Madeleine (23)
Fontaine de l'Observatoire (43A)
Jardin du Luxembourg (43)
Les Invalides (55)
Odeon Theatre (45)
Passage des Panoramas (67B)
Place des Vosges (74)
Pont Neuf (8A)
Saint Germain des Prés (46)
Bastille Opera (73)
Conciergerie (35)
Grand Palais et Petit Palais (29)
La Défense (100)
Montmartre (60)
Opéra Garnier (25)
Passages Couverts (67)
Place du Tertre (63)
Quartier Latin (38)
Sainte Chapelle (5)
Arènes de Lutece (75)
Belleville (88)
Champ de Mars (15)
Fontaine des Innocents (27B)
Île Saint Louis (7)
Jardins des Champs Elysées (11)
Le Défenseur du Temps (27C)
Metro Art-Noveau (36)
Moulin de la Galette (95)
Palais de l'Elysée (28)
Parc Monceau (82)
Place Pigalle (70)
Quai Voltaire (53)
Saint Severin (41)
The Seine (3)
Au Lapin Agile (64)
Bercy (81)
Cimetière du Montmartre (68)
Françoise Miterrand Library (78)
Institut du Monde Arabe (79)
Jardins du Trocadéro (14)
Les Catacombes de Paris (49)
Montparnasse Cemetery (48)
Moulin Rouge (69)
Palais du Luxembourg (42)
Passage Jouffroy (67A)
Place Saint-Sulpice (50A)
Rue des Rosiers (87)
Saint-Étienne du Mont (91)
Val-de-Grâce (92)
Auteil (94)
Cathedral Orthodox Saint Alexandre Nevsky (83)
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (85)
Hotel de Lauzun (9)
Institut Pasteur (54)
La Ruche (93)
Maison de Radio-France (17)
Montparnasse Tower (47)
National Library (77)
Palais Royal (26)
Passages Verdeau (67C)
Pont de l'Alma (8C)
Saint Eustache (27A)
Saint-Pierre-de-Montmartre (66)
Villette Park (98)
Basilique Saint-Denis (97)
Chaillot (13)
Cour de Rohan (52)
Île de la Cité (6)
Jardin des Plantes (76)
La Sorbonne (51)
Marché aux Puces de St. Ouen (96)
Mosquée de Paris (80)
Palais de la Porte Dorée (84)
Palais-Bourbon. Assemblée-Nationale (30)
Passy (89)
Port de l'Arsenal (72)
Saint Julien le Pauvre (39)
Saint-Sulpice (50)
Carnavalet Museum (34)
Musée de la Magie (90)
Musée d'Orsay - Art (59B)
Musée Picasso (33)
Victor Hug's House (58)
Georges Pompidou Centre (32)
Musée de l'Orangerie (21)
Musée d'Orsay - History (59A)
Museum of The Louvre - History (19A)