Musée Gadagne

The Musée Gadagne is a museum located in the center of the Vieux Lyon, in the Saint-Jean quarter, in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. It is composed of the Musée d'Histoire de Lyon and the Musée des Marionnettes du monde. The building was classified as a historic monument in 1920. It was acquired by the city of Lyon between 1902 and 1941. After it was determined to be in need of repair, the museum closed in 1998 for more than ten years for renovation and expansion. It was re-opened on 12 June 2009.

History

The museum is located in the Hôtel Gadagne, a building constructed in the early sixteenth century by the brothers Pierrevive (from 1511–1527). It was redesigned by the Gadagne (or Gadagni) brothers in 1545. This rich Florentine family lived in Lyon in the early fifteenth century. The brothers had many disagreements, and as a result, they stayed in two different parts of the hotel. At the time, their large fortune inspired a saying in Lyon: "riche comme Gadagne" ("rich as Gadagne"). At one time, one of the brothers, Thomas I de Gadagne (known as Thomas the Rich), paid part of the ransom to Louise of Savoy for the release of King Francis I, a prisoner of the Spaniards after the battle of Pavia in 1525.

In the seventeenth century, the hotel was divided evenly into small quarters. In 1902, it was partially bought by the city of Lyon.

On 19 January 1998, the city council decided to close the museum to undertake major expansion and a controversial renovation.[3] After ten years of closure and a major campaign of archaeological excavations, the museum opened its doors again in 2009. During that time, it expanded from an area of 3500 m2 to 6300 m2.

Address: 1 Place du Petit Collège, 69005 Lyon, France
Opened: June 2009
Phone: +33 4 78 42 03 61
Inaugurated: 1921