Paris1972-Versailles2003

I write on the many places visited and as always never quite tell all! Nantes is a city that is like one of my homes, not only for the visits with the family and friends that live there but on my business trips as well; needless to say been all over. However, there is so much beautiful things to write about my belle France that oh well here is another, the Dobrée museum of Nantes !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

I have visited the very nice and rich Dobrée museum with works from the middle ages to the 20C showing a large selection of archeological objects going from the 1C just to the Carolingian period as well as housing the box of where it was place the heart of Anne de Bretagne (duchess of Brittany, and queen of France). The Musée Dobrée belongs to the Loire-Atlantique departmental council since 1895. It is located in the city center at 1 Place Jean V, in the Graslin district, near Place Graslin.

The Dobrée house houses the museum’s collections. The 4 levels are envisaged according to a chrono-thematic course and can be independently visited. On Level -1 you will discover the archaeological collections of the museum, revealing the evolution and the specificities of human productions in the territory of Loire -Atlantique. The Loire estuary remains the backbone of this plateau making you evolve between river and ocean. Level 0 you will sail pieces devoted to the monumental architecture of medieval Nantes, on a more intimate scale of the art of living, presenting furniture, paintings, tapestries and works of art. This exploration of the art of living will allow you to browse the arts and styles in Europe, from the Middle Ages to the 18C, and to familiarize yourself with the taste and practices of an era. Anne de Bretagne funeral setting, emblematic work of the museum, embodies, on a plateau scale, this passage from Nantes architecture to discover European arts. Level +1 This will continues the exploration of the art of living developed on the lower floor. The entrance is by the large gallery, which traces the saga of the Dobré family from the 18C to the 19C. The second part of the set is dedicated to collectionism, organized in small scenographic spaces. Everyone presents a type of collections or a collector personality. From then on, the history of the collections becomes the privileged point of view. Level +2 This level is located under the attic, is devoted to the presentation of Mediterranean archaeological collections (Egypt, Greece and Etruria) and extra-European arts.

There is a boutique for gifts etc and a café both in the welcome building, You ,also, can see 3 gardens, The Garden of Children ,dedicated to games with lawns, foundations and a wooden playground that offers young adventurers to play with the fantastic Bestiary of the Dobrée Palace: owl, bear .etc.. The museum’s botanical garden faces The Dobrée house. This stopover in the visit route offers an introduction to the museum and a privileged point of view on the Dobrée house, the manor and the reception building. The Garden Parvis values ​​the main entrance to the museum by an open treatment, in Sweet slope of the main portal to the reception building. The side ramp is long there from a vegetable bench in pink grove to restore the seat of the manor

On the existing buildings, the Manoir de la Touche, the Dobrée palace 19C and the gardener’s house 19C, were added. In 1972-1973, a third building, the Voltaire building, which housed the conservation, documentation, permanent exhibition of regional archaeology, the auditorium, underground galleries and some reserves. It is wonderfully done architectural marvel ,in fact walking to it was seen more like a palace than a museum really very distinct Nantaise building style too. 

A bit of history tell us that the Thomas Dobrée museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on January 8, 1899 in Nantes. It assembled the collections of two museums set up to perpetuate important collections by entrusting them to a public authority. The departmental museum of Archeology proceeds from the donation to the Loire Atlantique Department, in 1860, of the collections then collected by the Archaeological and Historical Society of Nantes and Loire-Inférieur, founded in 1845, whose head office is still located at the manor of the Touche. The Thomas Dobrée museum results from the donation and the legacy made in 1894 by Thomas II Dobrée , Protestant shipowner and merchant born of a Norman family who fled the wars of religion in Guernsey , become renter and collector , passionate about the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In 1862, Thomas Dobrée acquired the enclosure of the Episcopal manor of La Touche , also called Jean V manor 15C-to 19C. On this plot, he built his Romanesque house between 1862 and 1898 to house and present his collection, a private residence entrusted to the Loire Atlantique Department to make it the Thomas Dobrée museum.

The official Dobrée museum : https://www.musee-dobree.fr/44/accueil/j_6

The Nantes tourist office on the Dobrée museum : https://www.levoyageanantes.fr/en/places/dobree-museum/

This is a magnificent charming area of Nantes to even walks and see the wonderful architecture of buildings all around you. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Dobrée museum of Nantes as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!