Musee Cluny

Musee Cluny is a museum of the Middle Ages.  It is an Abbey built on Gallo-Roman baths.  To learn more about Musee Cluny click on these links:

A brief history of the structures that make up Musee Cluny

Wikipedia on Musee Cluny  

Musee Cluny

This is the chapel ceiling.  The artifacts are housed in the Abbey and the Gallo-Roman baths, so you need to pay attention to your surroundings as you are looking at the exhibits.



Before entering the museum, we checked out the gardens.  The gardens are modeled on a medicinal garden from the Middle Ages.  A nice couple from Green Bay, Wisconsin directed toward the entrance.



This is the frigidarium, or the cold room in the Gallo-Roman baths.  The baths are from the 1st-3rd centuries.  This is a huge arched room and it is truly mind-blowing.  The decorations have been worn away by time, but the stonework and masonary are amazing.

In the room next door, they display the heads of kings that angry Revolutionaries knocked off of Notre Dame Cathedral during the Revolution.  The Gallery of Kings was destroyed and only redone after things calmed down.  The original king heads are at Musee Cluny.

The Lady and the Unicorn is one of the best preserved tapestries from the Middle Ages.  It depicts the six senses; there is much debate about what the sixth panel means and about what the sixth sense is supposed to be.  The tapestries are in their own room and are incredible.  They have captured the imagination of many authors and artists.  Some of the tapestries even appear in the Gryffindor common room in the Harry Potter movies.

If you visit Musee Cluny, make sure to pick up an audioguide.  There is very little information written on the displays in any language.  They have a great audioguide for kids, but it is only in French.  Lil and I enjoyed the kids' addition (Sylvia passed hers on to me) and Meme took advantage of the adults' addition.

Meme flew back to Halifax yesterday.  Thanks for everything, Meme!