Musée du Pays de Retz

Located in Bourgneuf-en-Retz, the Musée du Pays de Retz, a Musée de France, plunges you into the history and cultural and natural heritage of the Pays de Retz - the land of historic Brittany and the Vendée, from prehistory to the early 20th century.

In Villeneuve-en-Retz, and more particularly in the Bourgneuf-en-Retz area, the emblematic salt town of the former "Baye de Bretagne", the Musée du Pays de Retz is a must-see!

After watching a film presenting the area and the life cycle of a local salt marsh, you'll discover 1300m2 of spaces dedicated to different themes: archaeology, mineralogy, history, old maps and coats of arms, a gallery of historical figures, costumes and headgear, trades of yesteryear, farming and wine-growing activities, fresh and salt water, traditional rural housing, the 1900 inn and school, and an archaeological reconstruction of a Gallic salt oven.


You'll be immersed in local history in an educational and entertaining way:


handling clay objects and wooden tools
writing with an old-fashioned pen on old school desks
riding a draisienne (the forerunner of the bicycle) from the early 19th century
trying on replicas of helmets, hats and weapons linked to famous people who have left their mark on the region's memory



Numerous events are organised throughout the season:


temporary exhibitions
lectures
large-format wooden games from yesteryear
discovery and puzzle games
discovery of solar and nocturnal astronomy
introductions to traditional activities (rope-making, basket-making, spinning, making and maintaining headdresses and lace, etc.)
reconstructions of a 15th-century knight's camp (tent and furnishings, introductory courses in sword fighting and crossbow shooting for adults and children, coin tossing, presentation of giant "Irish wolfhound" wolf and bear hunters, etc.).



Children at the Musée du Pays de Retz :


Possibility of guided tours with full mediation lasting around 1 hour 45 minutes for school groups, nursery schools, hospital care centres, leisure centres and private individuals (booking required: minimum 15 people). Conditions and rates: contact the museum)
self-guided tours are accompanied by a guide for around 15 minutes (presentation of the museum, history and special features of the region, etc.)
photos are permitted and strongly recommended when you are wearing beautiful helmets, elegant hats and impressive swords and sabres...
Children can visit the Museum dressed as Vikings and knights (with clothes, helmets, swords and shields).


For more information: this site can be discovered by following Bourgneuf-en-Retz's historic urban trail.

Did you know?

This museum is housed in a former outbuilding of the Cordeliers convent. Run by Franciscan monks, it was built at the beginning of the 14th century (approved by the Pope in 1332), on the initiative of the lords Girard de Machecoul and Aliénor de Thouars, his wife. It was in this convent that they were later buried.
As founders of the convent, the Sires de Retz had the right to reside there. In the 15th century, when Gilles de Rais moved to Bourgneuf, he stayed in his flats in the convent. It is said that he martyred a young boy of around fifteen years old when he spent the night there!
The building that remains today dates from the 18th century. The old stone porch dates from 1773.
This "Saint-Antoine" style porch gave access to the former outbuildings of the wealthy and important Saint-François-des-Cordeliers convent.
In 1790, the last two Cordeliers left the premises, their property having been confiscated. The convent was sold as national property. A certain Louis Gouy bought the building before the commune of Bourgneuf acquired it.
In 1851, the building became a nursery school for boys.
It was Jean Mounès (1925-1975), a teacher of French, history and geography, who took the initiative in transforming the building into a museum in 1966. Alongside his teaching activities, he had pursued university studies, and devoted himself to research into archaeology and folklore at the Bourgneuf-en-Retz museum, which he ran, as well as the regional geography of the Bay of Bourgneuf and the Marais Breton.

The Musée du Pays de Retz is one of the many places to visit in Villeneuve-en-Retz presented by the Destination Pornic Tourist Office.