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Cluny Museum
National Museum of the Middle Ages
Paris, France
National Museum of the Middle Ages - Official Website


Photographs taken in February 2012.

Exterior photographs

Interior photographs:  Roman Baths and Gothic Chapel

Interior photographs:  Stained glass / Choir stalls / Two Romanesque crucifixes

History

The Musée de Cluny is officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge (National Museum of the Middle Ages).

It was formerly the town house (hôtel) of the abbots of Cluny, started in 1334. The structure was rebuilt by Jacques d'Amboise, abbot in commendam of Cluny 1485-1510; it combines Gothic and Renaissance elements. In 1843 it was made into a public museum.

Although originally intended for the use of the Cluny abbots, the residence was taken over ... and rebuilt to its present form in the period of 1485-1500. Occupants of the house over the years have included Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII of England. She was installed here after the death of her husband Louis XII by his successor Francis I of France in 1515.

In 1833 Alexandre du Sommerard moved here and installed his large collection of medieval and Renaissance objects. Upon his death in 1842 the collection was purchased by the state; the building was opened as a museum in 1843.

The Hôtel de Cluny is partially constructed on the remains of Gallo-Roman baths dating from the third century (known as the Thermes de Cluny), which are famous in their own right and which may still be visited. In fact, the museum itself actually consists of two buildings: the frigidarium ("cooling room"), where the remains of the Thermes de Cluny are, and the Hôtel de Cluny itself, which houses its impressive collections.
- Wikipedia (March 2012)


Photos and their arrangement © 2012Chuck LaChiusa
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