Located just behind the Beaux Arts museum, this collection of items made of iron was interesting because of the variety. I especially liked all the old signs hanging along the bottom of the gallery; they were used extensively before people became literate. Loved the old church housing the collection, too.
This museum is a gem, and was almost empty when we went around. It includes eras from a Viking key and Gallo-roman implements, to tons of later centuries - really wrought art and design for many parts of life. From the wonderul design and craftsmanship to the horrifying historical artifacts (the medical tools, for example), it was an easy, fascinating and rewarding afternoon. (If you have sensitive kids, you can easily pass over some of the disturbing cases - implements for docking horses tails - and there are tons of others of interest - including an amazine 17th German century lock and key that are cut open so the fantastic workmanship can be seen and felt.) Beautiful, wide-ranging collection.
Fascinating collection of ironwork, beautifully displayed in an old church. It is impressive how attractive the pieces are and how well the three dimensional aspects are used to full advantage
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Ferronnerie, a unique experience among the many wonderful art and architecture museums in the region. On display were works tiny and large, crafted in iron, ranging from door knockers, kitchenware, surgical tools, gates and grates. How did they do this without our modern tools and technology??!!
Before you came here you never knew how interesting wrought iron could be! The old church is filled with a huge variety of iron items, grouped by category and with good descriptions.
This compact museum, housed in one of Rouen’s many dilapidated former churches, proved to be much more interesting than we had expected. Billed as a museum of “wrought ironwork” we decided to visit it near the end of a holiday that had seen us Cathedral-ed and Art-Galleried to exhaustion. So, “something different”, we thought – and so it turned out to be. The museum contains thousands of objects, neatly and professionally displayed and labelled, covering a vast range of metal objects. They range from a complete ornate staircases banister to a large medieval doornail, taking in along the way keys and locks, ornamental plates, tools, toolmakers’ tools, scissors, sewing kits, cooking equipment, toys, hinges, weaponry, even a handbag or two – and that is very far from a complete list. The interest of the museum stems from the sheer diversity of the designs, and it must be impossible to walk around it without being fascinated by the ornate designs of the 15th, 16th and other centuries. All the labels and handouts are in French only; the staff speak limited English. Entrance was only 3 euros (august 2010), but beware it is closed at lunchtime.
If you had told me that I would have really liked a museum of ironwork, I would have told you that you were crazy but this is actually quite interesting. The pieces shown are amazingly intricate and many of them are quite beautiful. The only down side is that the only explanations are in French. Not worth a trip on its own. but definitely worth a visit if you're in Rouen. BTW, there's a joint ticket if you're visiting the Beaux Arts as well
Visited here on a cold rainy august afternoon, what a surprise!Both I and my wife found this place mesmerising. The exhibits are well displayed and the setting is perfect. I’m a welder and found the range of items amazing.There's a huge selection of both practical and decorative works, and a good insight into the role that early Blacksmithing played in the development of many modern industries, including cooking, medicine, security, engineering and obviously weaponry.If you have a couple of hours free and want to experience something just a little different, please, go here.
This can be combined on one ticket with the Musee des Arts and the Ceramics. It is in an interesting former church and filled with the most extraordinary pieces of ironmongery from across the centuries. A good way to speng half and hour.
This is a wrought iron museum that occupies an old church. There are all kinds of iron items inside here from keys and padlock, to wall coverings, spiral staircase rail, a bed, lamps, tools, and more. I was very impressed with this collection and I would not hesitate to visit again. Very interesting, takes about an 1 to 1.5 hours. Don’t forget to take the stairs to see all the stuff upstairs. I loved the door knockers on the first floor.