Musée des Arts religieux et des Eglises du Loir et Cher

The museum was born from the passion of a priest of the diocese and the will of his bishop. Indeed, it was established in 1932 at the request of Bishop Audollent, Bishop of Blois, to ensure initiation of seminarians in art history. Its first curator was Fr. Maurice Hémonée, well known in Loir-et-Cher when he walked the roads to collect from the parish priests the "oldies" who slept in church background or rotting in the granaries presbyteries, because they were no longer considered worthy to serve in worship or be proposed to the veneration of the faithful. This backup action and the collection of works in a museum allowed to keep them and offer them to the admiration of visitors in better conditions than in their place of origin. The collections were also enriched by the gifts of priests and individuals. Between 1952 and 1984, the works of the museum were presented to the public in four rooms designed for this purpose on the ground floor of the Louis XII wing of the castle. From that date, a new move takes place in buildings newly restored Jacobins. Space does not allow a full exhibition of collections, presentation is by topics relating the history of the church, the cult of saints, local history or the development of religious objects.