And this was a dandy and we love it. Came to Orléans for it and glad we did. The history of France is huge and we love it, very much here in this city, all over, and wonderful architecture. I like to tell you my update on the house museum of Joan of Arc in Orléans, which Maison Musée Jeanne d’Arc .Hope you enjoy it as we did!
On my road warrior fix along my belle France , I take you back to a wonderful historical city of Orléans, and now with friends there that worked with me! I was there first and have several entries on it in my blog. I like to tell you a bit more about the Museum House of Joan of Arc in the city of Orléans. The Maison Musée de Jeanne d’Arc! This is nicely done and worth the visit in city center.
The house known as Joan of Arc in Orléans is a historical museum dedicated to Joan of Arc, inaugurated in 1974, in a town house of medieval style reconstituted in 1965, in the city center of Orléans, in the Loiret department 45 in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Joan of Arc stayed in the former House , during the few weeks of her heroic contribution to the liberation of Orléans at the Siege of Orléans (1428-1429) an episode of The Hundred Years War 1337-1453.
On a side note by the place du Martroi, symbolic heart of the city has a huge equestrian statue of Jeanne d’Arc where she is bigger than the horse, at WWII this sculpture was partially destroyed and it was rebuilt by sculptor Paul Belmondo ,father of the famous actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.
A bit of history I like
This traditional, four-story, wood-framed, wooden-brick townhouse with cross-windows with mullions and stained glass, and slate roof, was the home of Jacques Boucher, treasurer General of Prince Charles I of Orléans (Duke of Orléans and Duke of the Valois 1394-1465. Joan of Arc spent several weeks there, when she helped to liberate the city heroically, between April 29 and May 9, 1429, during the siege of Orléans, which pitted the coalition of the Kingdom of England and the Burgundian state against the Kingdom of France.
The House-Museum was completely rebuilt in 1965, after being completely destroyed by the bombardments of Orléans of 1940 during WWII. The new Jeanne d’Arc Municipal Museum is founded in 1974 by the Orléans City/Town hall and houses an archival fonds dedicated to Joan of Arc and at the time, about 37 000 documents (books, brochures, journals, manuscripts, posters, engravings from the 16C to the 20C, and films) after one year of closure for renovations, the House of Joan of Arc reopens in Spring 2012.
On the ground floor is the museum part with a whole new set of scenery to discover in a multimedia room offering interactive kiosks, an illustrated chronological frieze and a cartography of Jeanne’s epic story. A film about Joan of Arc and Orléans, interactive kiosks and a timeline will carry the visitor in the midst of a hundred Years War with Joan of Arc for heroin. On the upper floors of Joan of Arc’s house the Jeanne d’Arc Center gathers more than 37,000 documents related to the maid of Orléans. And I could not helped it but loaded on goodies!!!
Some webpages to help you plan your trip here and its all worth it are:
The city of Orléans on the house museum: https://www.orleans-metropole.fr/culture/musees-expositions/la-maison-de-jeanne-darc
The Orléans tourist office on the traces of Joan of Arc: https://en.tourisme-orleansmetropole.com/walking-joan-arcs-footsteps
The Loiret dept 45 tourist office on the house museum of Joan of Arc: https://www.tourismeloiret.com/en/diffusio/visits/maison-de-jeanne-d-arc-orleans_TFOPCUCEN0450100024
The official maison musée Jeanne d’Arc in French: http://www.jeannedarc.com.fr/maison/maison.htm
I hope you enjoy the tour and get you to come over to this wonderful city of Orléans in the Center of France and visit a lovely well design house on the life of the heroine of France, Secondary Patron Saint of France, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc).
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 