The Museum of Brittany is the ground floor of a grand building in the centre of Rennes. The first floor is the Musee des Beaux Arts. It was created after the second world war by a bloke called Georges-Henri Rivere. It is fairly cheap to get in, 7.5 francs for students, 15 francs for normal people. The museum houses a fine collection of archaeological and ethnological artifacts, dating from neolithic times and ancient Armorica, to the present day. It is a fine introduction to the various aspects of the region and also the development of Rennes. It's downside is its patchy translations for foreign visitors and you do leave the building with a feeling that it is underdeveloped, probably because the space available is too small for the collections.
The collections on show are well laid out in a chronological order, the archaeological collections and the history of the Breton state are especially interesting. Just how English troops seemed to end up in all three armies that were involved in the 14th century war of succession completely baffled this visiter. The foyer has a large collection of fairly cheap resource books that are useful for general interest as well as research, such as source books on the occupation of Rennes, and the Dreyfuss affair.
The museum is constantly developing its collection, and it maintains a rich costume and social history section. The museum also has an extensive archive collection for consultation, including an extensive section of original documents from Captain Dreyfuss's retrial at the now-named Lycee Emile Zola, and documents from the occupation and liberation of Rennes during WW2. A new museum site is actually under construction, so when this is finished and the collections sorted out, Rennes will finally be able to show off its rich heritage.
Review based on visit 13th March 1997
Copyright 1997 Adam Edwards
Association BUG