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Franco-American Museum, Blérancourt | |
| This unusual museum, housed in a gracious château, celebrates the friendship between France and America over the centuries. | ||
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The Franco-American Museum is housed in the Château of Blérancourt, a 17th century château located about 124 kilometers (77 miles) northeast of Paris (map). The museum re-opened in 2017 after extensive renovations. The museum celebrates Franco-American cooperation and relationships across many disciplines: the arts, politics, the world wars, and the shared and separate histories of the two countries. It is the only French national museum that celebrates Franco-American friendship.
The museum expansion has provided elegant and spacious exhibit space for the museum's collections. One exhibit addresses the French revolution and the American revolution and their similarities. Another focuses on Native Americans, while a different one provides the French perspective on slavery and the war of secession, or civil war. Some rooms are devoted to the world wars, with a World War I American Field Service ambulance on display, as well as airplanes, uniforms, and equipment. American "fly boys" and the Lafayette Flying Corps are also featured. Sections of the museum also look at World War II and the Cold War and its impact on society. Paintings and sculptures by American and French artists illustrate how these cultures informed each other and shared common ideas. An impressive collection of paintings by American and French impressionists line the walls. A library and important archives are also part of the museum. During the renovations, vestiges of an earlier château were discovered, and these are visible on the lower level of the museum. In addition to the museum, be sure to visit the lovely gardens that surround it. One section is the New World Gardens, organized by the American Friends of Blérancourt and featuring plants of American origin. Blérancourt was established as a French national museum on Franco-American cooperation in 1931. Formerly the home of Anne Morgan, daughter of American John Pierpont Morgan, the museum also honors the work that Anne Morgan did during World War I. In 1917, Anne Morgan organized American women volunteers at Blérancourt. These women provided medical and social services to the local population, which had suffered greatly during the war. In 1918, the Armistice that brought the Great War to an end was signed in a railroad car in the nearby woods. The work of Anne Morgan and the American volunteers continued until the French government was able to take it over. The museum is open daily except for Tuesdays, from 10 - 12:30 and again from 2:00 - 5:00. The gardens are open every day. Château de Blérancourt
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Above, Strolling to the New World Gardens at Blérancourt.
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