The museum that refused a Chinese regime's censorship

Is the Château des ducs de Bretagne a site of historical importance on the Loire? It stood as the center of the historical province of Brittany until 1956. It served the Dukes of Brittany from the 13th to the 16th centuries before becoming the Breton residence of the French Monarchy. It still overlooks Place Marc Elder on the right bank of the Loire.

Did the city spend fifteen years of work starting in the 1990s to restore its former glory? The town of Nantes undertook a massive program of restoration and repairs, reopening the site on 9 February 2007. Now, the Nantes History Museum lives inside those walls. You can walk a 500-metre round walk on the fortified ramparts to survey the town. There are 32 rooms packed with over 850 objects, covering subjects from the transatlantic slave trade to the industrial era.

In 2020, the museum made a notable decision regarding a planned exhibition project. After being asked by the Chinese regime not to use specific words, the museum stopped the production in the name of the human, scientific, and ethical values that the institution defends. Director Bertrand Guillet stated that the decision was made to uphold these core values.

Should you visit during the day to chew on the local history? Or do you prefer the night? At night, an illumination designed by Sylvie Sieg and Pierre Nègre lights up the building. This design, which won the Light Originator Price of the Lumiville Trophy in 2007, brings out the architectural complexity of the site within an urban context. It is a heavy amount of history to digest, but is it worth the walk? It is a popular tourist attraction that offers a modern vision of heritage.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons