So lets stay in wonderful lovely Amboise. As said, we come here often, too repetitive to post always! However, while looking at previous posts, realised not written or hardly told you about a wonderful building and a nice museum by the Loire river. Therefore, this is old picture new text to tell you about the new Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Amboise,part I !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I
The former Musée Hôtel Morin now the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire or Museum of Art and History of Amboise is housed in a former private mansion from the beginning of the 16C, facing the Loire river in Amboise. It houses various collections centered around the history of the city such as famous people, urban developments, historical moments, Amboise artists, etc. The museum was the private home of Pierre Morin, treasurer of king Louis XII. Built between 1501 and 1505, in the 18C it became the ducal palace of the Duke of Choiseul, then the seat of the city/town hall in 1855. From this period, the building was transformed into a museum bringing together national repositories and collections. acquired by successive mayors. Its architecture dates from the first French Renaissance, an alliance of French Gothic and Italian Renaissance.
The domaine of Amboise and Chanteloup was raised in 1762 as a duchy-peerage. The Duke of Choiseul bought the Hôtel Morin in order to make it the seat of his seigneurial justice, the chamber of accounts and the prison. The building was then known under the name of Ducal Palace. On the death of the Duke of Choiseul in 1785, the Duke of Penthièvre bought the domain, which his daughter would inherit in 1793. Confiscated during the French revolution, the domain of Chanteloup was placed in sale while the Morin Hotel is given to the general hospice of Tours. The city of Amboise became a tenant until 1826, when it bought it from the general hospice in Tours, where the prison, the justice of the peace and the salt loft were installed.
Following his surrender in Algeria, Abd-El-Kader was taken prisoner and brought, with his family and his retinue, to France. He lived under house arrest at the royal castle of Amboise from 1848 to 1852. His garrison remained stationed at the Morin hotel for the duration of his presence in Amboise. From the 1890s until 1970, the city/ town hall and the museum will live together in the same building. In 1970, the administrative services were transferred to the new buildings built nearby. A passage allowing direct access from one to the other of the buildings still allows the use of certain rooms for municipal purposes. Long called the Musée de l’Hotel de Ville or city hall museum, the museum has been renamed in 2014 as Musée de l’Hotel Morin ,and now Musée d’Art et d’Histoire since 2024.
The museum has six visiting rooms, two vestibules, two corridors and a stairwell, The marriage room – where all civil weddings in the city of Amboise still take place, The Kings room, The Leonardo da Vinci room , The Yvonne Gouverné room, The gouache room, The municipal council room, Some rooms are still used for municipal purposes (marriage room, Yvonne Gouverné room, Council room in particular).
The city of Amboise on the museum : https://www.ville-amboise.fr/97/musee-d-art-et-d-histoire-d-amboise.htm
The regional centre val de loire museums on the Museum : https://www.museescentre.com/lesmuseesenregion/mus%C3%A9e-d%E2%80%99art-et-d%E2%80%99histoire-d%E2%80%99amboise
There you go folks, another dandy monument in lovely Amboise , and to boot right facing the mighty Loire river. The former Morin Hotel Museum and now the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire is worth the detour once seen the castle, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Amboise,part I !!! as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 