The Museum of Decorative Arts, Bourges, France

The Museum of Decorative Arts has been housed in the Hôtel Lallemant since 1951. Its boasts collections of French and Dutch furniture, including a rare carved, engraved ebony cabinet, inlaid and japanned furniture, a set of 16th and 17th century tapestries, as well as items in faïence, enamels, ivories, glasswork, clocks, miniature furniture made by master craftsmen.

Flemish, Italian and French paintings lend an intimate atmosphere to this display. One can notice masterpieces of the 17th century: a cabaret scene by N. Tournier, an allegory by S. Vouet and a religious painting attributed to Nicolas Poussin.

References:

City of Bourges

Museums in France

User Reviews

Armail Lef (14 months ago)
Pleasant visit. The buildings of Bourges are exceptional. Thank you to the city for making all the museums free during this funny summer 2020. "The Sound of Things" is fun.

Thierry Plantier (15 months ago)
Nice building but the exhibits are few and not highlighted

Chihabe idine Raquib (2 years ago)
The Lallemant hotel is located in Bourges (Cher) and has kept the names of its builders, Jean Lallemant, three members of the same first name from a rich family of merchants from Germany who arrived in Bourges in the 13th century. The land where the building stands was acquired on November 6, 1467. The previous buildings were destroyed by the great Bourges fire in July 14871. The construction of the hotel took place between 1495 and 1518. The whole constitutes a remarkable example of the end of the Louis XII style and the first French Renaissance. The Lallemant Hotel is listed as a historic monument by the 1840 list.

Nicholas Jones (Nick) (2 years ago)
Worth the visit. Can be covered in 30-45 minutes but every is very inexpensive (4€ for adults). The building itself is enough to justify your time.

Alan Richoux (2 years ago)
A nice museum not very expensive. Nice staff and smiling. Must see at night when the backyard is bathed in light plays.

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Kraków Cloth Hall

The Cloth Hall in Kraków dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978).

The hall was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe already from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw in the very end of the 16th century. The city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.

The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as Charles, Prince of Wales and Emperor Akihito of Japan, who was welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski had briefly liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall still is still used as a center of commerce.

On the upper floor of the hall is the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum, Kraków. It holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch. The museum was upgraded in 2010 with new technical equipment, storerooms, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout for the display.

The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened on October 7, 1879. It features late Baroque, Rococo, and Classicist 18th-century portraits and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics.

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