Muséum d’Histoire naturelle – Abbaye Saint-Loup

Near the cathedral, the former Saint-Loup Abbey, founded at the dawn of the Middle Ages and now rebuilt, is home to the Natural History Museum.

The Troyes Museum dates back to the end of the 18th century. Its first collections (from the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, the Ecole des Mines de Paris and the cabinet of the Comte de Brienne) were put together for teaching purposes by teachers at the Ecole centrale du département de l'Aube (a public education establishment created during the French Revolution).

In 1802, the management of these collections was entrusted to the Société d'Agriculture, des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres du département de l'Aube (now the Société Académique). Professor Serqueil, a member of the society, was appointed curator of the collections, which were installed on the ground floor of the library, in the former Saint-Loup abbey.

In 1814, an incendiary bomb destroyed part of the building and the first museum was forgotten.

From 1829 onwards, the Société Académique brought together the collections that had been dispersed or had escaped destruction. These collections were kept at the Prefecture and then, from 1831, in the former Saint-Loup Abbey.

In 1833, the Cabinet d'histoire naturelle, the future Muséum, opened its doors to the public.

The collections have grown steadily over the years, thanks to donations from enthusiastic amateur naturalists who are helping to advance knowledge. As members of the Société Académique de l'Aube, they meet up to exchange ideas, organise field trips, record the plants, rocks and fossils they collect and publish articles in the Society's Mémoires. The specimens they collected were often added to the Museum's collections. Among the naturalists who contributed to the development of the Museum and naturalist knowledge were Leymerie, Des Etangs, Clément-Mullet, Briard, Cartereau, Drouët, Ray, Cotteau and Hariot.

In 1967, the Société Académique de l'Aube transferred the Museum's entire collection to the City of Troyes.

Today, the challenge is to bring these collections to life and link them to today's world, while respecting their history. The museum's role is to conserve, study and enhance the collections, but also to disseminate them and make them accessible to everyone, from researchers and specialists to the general public, in order to continue this effort to pass on and develop scientific knowledge.

Languages

• English
• French