Museos > The National Archeological Museum

Founded around 1122 by Louis VI le Gros, the Castle Saint germain en Laye was englared by Saint Louis who added the magnificent Sainte Chapelle between 1230 to 1238. It was badly damaged during the Hundred Years War, and was rebuilt by Charles V from 1363 to 1367. It was rebuilt once again by Francisco I from 1539, and it became his favourite residence, as well as for Louis XIV until the departure of the Court of Versailles in 1862. In 1862, Napoleon III deciden to place there the National Archeological collections. It was renovated from 1960-1980 on the initiative of Andre Malraux, and the museum has recently been museographically reorganised. Its collections are rich with more than two million archeological pieces dating back to Prehistory up to the beginning of the Middle Ages, and 30.000 objects among which the most representative ones are exhibited permanently.