Museum of the Pays de Retz

Located in Bourgneuf-en-Retz, the Musée du Pays de Retz, which has been awarded the Musée de France label, immerses you in the history and cultural and natural heritage of the Pays de Retz, 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, an inn and a 1900 school, and an archaeological reconstruction of a Gallic salt oven.

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

Numerous events are organised throughout the season:

The little extras at the Musée du Pays de Retz :

To further your knowledge: this site can be discovered by following Bourgneuf-en-Retz's historic urban itinerary.

  Did you know?
This museum is housed in a former outbuilding of the Cordeliers convent. Run by Franciscan monks, it was built in the early 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 of abode. In the 15th century, when Gilles de Rais moved to Bourgneuf, he stayed in the convent's apartments. It is attested that, while spending a night there, he martyred a young boy of around 15 years of age!
The building that survives today dates from the 18th century. The old stone porch is dated 1773.
This “Saint-Antoine” 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 French, history and geography teacher, who took the initiative in transforming the site into a museum in 1966. Parallel to his teaching activities, he had pursued university studies, and devoted himself to research into archaeology and folklore at the Bourgneuf-en-Retz museum he ran, as well as the regional geography of the Bay of Bourgneuf and the Marais Breton Vendéen.
 

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.