Bargoin Museum

The Bargoin museum, in Clermont-Ferrand

The Bargoin museum is a museum with a fine neoclassical façade, famous for its rich collections of archaeology and textiles. The Clermont-Ferrand audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this institution opened in 1903 thanks to the gift of Jean-Baptiste Bargoin, and the neighbouring Pyramid fountain, an obelisk of Volvic stone raised in tribute to general Desaix, victor of the battle of the Pyramids.

History

With its superb façade of neoclassical style, the Bargoin museum attracts the eye. Inside, it gathers collections linked both to archaeology, come from excavations conducted in Clermont-Ferrand and its surroundings, and to the art of textile. It is thanks to the gift of Jean-Baptiste Bargoin, who wished to endow the city with a public building devoted to the arts, that the museum could open its doors in 1903. First thought as a museum of Fine Arts, it transformed over the years, when its art collections were transferred at the end of the twentieth century to the Roger-Quilliot museum. The Bargoin museum today presents archaeological collections going from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, and extra-European textile collections from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century. A stone's throw away, in the middle of a roundabout, stands an impressive fountain of Volvic stone, nicknamed the Pyramid. In the shape of an obelisk recalling the campaign of Egypt, it pays tribute to general Desaix, considered by Napoleon as one of his most talented generals and victor of the battle of the Pyramids. Realised in 1801 by the architect Pierre Laurent, it is inscribed as a Historic Monument.

What to see

Here you admire a museum with a fine neoclassical façade, opened in 1903 thanks to the gift of Jean-Baptiste Bargoin, with its rich collections of local archaeology (from Prehistory to the Middle Ages) and extra-European textiles; very near, the Pyramid fountain, an obelisk of Volvic stone of 1801, pays tribute to general Desaix. The Bargoin museum charms the curious in Clermont-Ferrand. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Bargoin museum lies in the centre of Clermont-Ferrand, reachable on foot; the Pyramid fountain stands nearby, on a roundabout. It is a museum whose access and hours follow the conditions in force, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

What does the Bargoin museum of Clermont-Ferrand present?

Opened in 1903 thanks to the gift of Jean-Baptiste Bargoin, this museum with a neoclassical façade presents collections of archaeology come from local excavations, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, and extra-European textile collections from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century; very near stands the Pyramid fountain, an obelisk of 1801 in tribute to general Desaix.

Where is the Bargoin museum in Clermont-Ferrand?

In the centre of Clermont-Ferrand, in France.