Every year, the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days ) offer an enchanting interlude for lovers of history, art and culture. During this special weekend, on September 21 and 22, 2024, monuments, museums and historic sites open their doors wide, often free of charge, to reveal their secrets. It's a real invitation to rediscover France's heritage in a new light, a rich and edifying experience.
Mantes-la-Jolie, this charming commune in the Yvelines department, is a veritable historical goldmine. Its history, dating back to Antiquity, is magnificently reflected in its majestic Collégiale Notre-Dame, a testament to Gothic art. Over the centuries, Mantes-la-Jolie has witnessed the birth of major events, lively trade fairs and legends that continue to fascinate visitors and residents alike.
So, why is Mantes-la-Jolie a must-see destination during the Journées du Patrimoine 2024? Quite simply because it's a unique opportunity to explore its picturesque alleyways, visit its historic monuments and immerse yourself in an atmosphere steeped in history and tradition. Between workshops, guided tours and re-enactments, Mantes-la-Jolie promises an immersive and memorable heritage experience!
Municipal Archives
With one of the finest collections of municipal archives in the département, the Archives de Mantes-la-Jolie tell the story of the town since its creation in the 12th century. From medieval manuscripts to photos of the 1944 bombardments, the tour will retrace Mantes-la-Jolie's past through some of the remarkable items preserved in the archives, while learning about the archivist's profession.
Center d'arts Abel Lauvray
Visit the Chai troglodyte and the heritage vines recently planted in the park ("Closerie des Cordeliers"), taste Clos des Vieilles Murailles wines, and learn about our activities and the winegrowing history of the Seine Valley.
The Chai troglodyte, former cellars of the Cordelier convent, is a historic site in the Mantois region
Winegrowing is also part of our local heritage, as the Seine valley was one of France's largest wine-producing regions until the end of the 19th century.
The visit will take place during the bottling of the 2023 crus, so there will be real wine-making activity.
Note: given the date, it's also possible that the harvest of one of our crus is also underway.
In partnership with Collectif 12, the LABEL HISTOIRE association invites you on a journey through history, "From South to North", a nostalmagic trail that tells the story of the genesis of VAL FOURRE from the schools to the banks of the Seine. (Walking tour 21/09: the Physicists and Inventors district, the Writers, Musicians and Aviators district and finally the Painters district: arrival at the Marcel DORET "city stade" site).
Walking tour 22/09: North and South Doctors, Explorers, Navigators and MANTES 2 shopping center.
This second part of the exhibition (1945-1975) is an immersion in the glorious past of the Mantais region, a tribute to all the shopkeepers, craftsmen and factories that have contributed to the growth of our region.
Take a moving trip back in time with Véronique Lesieur, a singer who will take you back in time (2pm-6pm).
Join Pascal Etchegu, photographer from Mantes, to discover the "Mantes glorieuses" exhibition. Follow in the footsteps of businesses past and present, while taking photos of shopfronts.
Notre-Dame Collegiate Church
Located in the heart of the city's historic quarter, within the walls of an ancient medieval castle, the collegiate church dominates the Mantais landscape. Its architectural kinship with Notre-Dame de Paris gives it a prominent place.
Let yourself be guided by this elegant early Gothic architecture of stone and light.
Two 30-minute sessions allow the public to discover the gallery area and the lapidary repository.
Located in the heart of the town's historic quarter, within the walls of an ancient medieval castle, the collegiate church dominates the Mantais landscape. Its architectural kinship with Notre-Dame de Paris gives it a prominent place.
Let yourself be guided by this elegant early Gothic architecture of stone and light.
Exceptional access to the galleries and lapidary repository.
Église Sainte-Anne de Gassicourt
Situated near the Seine, the 11th-century church of Sainte-Anne was built in the village of Gassicourt and belonged to the Cluniac priory of Saint-Sulpice. The church features remarkable wooden stalls and 13th-century stained glass windows donated by Saint-Louis and Blanche de Castille. It was listed as a Monument Historique in 1862.
Grande Mosquée de Mantes-la-Jolie
"The Mosque, a place of spirituality and instruction, is also a place of life and culture, a source of fertile interweaving. Inaugurated in July 1981, the Grande Mosquée de Mantes features a sober neo-Moorish style, the fruit of the collaboration of two architects, one French, the other Moroccan. It is one of the first buildings in France to be dedicated to Muslim worship.
Enjoy a guided tour, followed by a chat over mint tea and North African pastries.
Come and discover the mosaics from the Briare factory in the Loiret region, a benchmark in industrial art, laid by a master craftsman specially flown in from Morocco. You'll cross the nave to reach the mihrab, a niche facing Mecca, and the minbar, a carved wooden pulpit used for Friday prayers."
Grande Mosquée / Calligraphy workshop: A calligrapher, present among us, will draw your first name in Arabic letters. A souvenir of your visit to the Grande Mosquée de Mantes.
Exhibition on literature and Impressionism from 09/21 to 10/12/2024 and readings of texts on the theme of water, with Guy de Maupassant in the spotlight.
Musée de l'Hôtel Dieu
Storytelling tour: 10am-10.45am
Embark on a storytelling tour of the Musée de l'Hôtel-Dieu. A multi-sensory, immersive walk suitable for 3-6 year olds.
Fun and interactive visit: 11am-11.45am & 4pm-4.45pm
Discover the museum's works through play! A fun and interactive tour, with challenges and riddles to solve. Children aged 3 to 11 and their families
Guided tour of the temporary exhibition Mantes en Seine: 12pm & 5pm
Discover how the Seine has shaped the landscape and mankind with a guided tour of the new exhibition "Mantes en Seine".
Guided tour of the permanent collection: 14h
In the former medieval chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu, discover the history and landscapes of the Mantois region with a guided tour of the museum's collections.
Sensory guided tour: 15h
Discover the museum's collections in a different way, with a sensory guided tour. Open to all.
Between 1817 and 1825, Louis-Isidore Duperrey sailed the southern seas, first on board the Corvette "l'Uranie", commanded by Louis de Freycinet, then on his own expedition aboard the "La Coquille". Both a sailor and a scientist, he recorded and drew everything in his journals, now preserved in the Archives municipales. You're invited to discover this treasure trove during the European Heritage Days.
Conference tour on Saturday September 21: 16:00-17:00
11am / 12pm / 3pm / 5pm
Shortly before a guided tour, let Compagnie Freikopf surprise you with a special delivery in the form of an artistic intervention.
Amis du Mantois: presentation of the association that promotes Mantes' heritage.
Culture et Patrimoine mantais: presentation of the association that promotes Mantes' heritage. Exhibition on the Seine, Rail, Road and Air routes in and around Mantes-la-Jolie.
Label Mantes: through Label Mantes, Sophie Rigaud (textile designer) aims to promote artistic creation in the Mantois region while enhancing its heritage.
Club Lafayette: playful demonstration of elements of Romanesque and Gothic architecture & exhibition of models and construction machines from the Middle Ages.
Bulles de Mantes: presentation of the Bulles de Mantes association and signing session with a comic book author.
Archives municipales, 2pm-5.30pm: "les p'tits explorateurs" workshop -> like Captain Duperrey, set off to discover unknown worlds. Based on his writings during his voyages on La Coquille and l'Uranie, create your own logbook: the departure, the story of a day in the middle of the ocean, and the drawing of a scientific discovery, and finally, the commander's arrival on an unknown land. In conjunction with the exhibition "Duperrey's voyages around the world".
Label Mantes and the Archives municipales; 2pm-5.30pm: Voyage autour du monde: dans le sillage de la Coquille de Duperrey. In collaboration with the Archives Department, SOPHIE RIGAUD DESIGNER DE MANTES, a fine arts graduate, invites you on an extraordinary voyage in the footsteps of the Coquille expedition, commissioned by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville between 1822 and 1825.
Through an immersive installation, conceived as a cabinet of curiosities, come and discover fascinating objects from this far-flung voyage: navigational instruments, naturalist specimens, travel diaries and many other treasures.
Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this great scientific adventure, and explore the different lands visited by the crew: the Pacific islands, the coasts of South America, Australia and New Zealand.
This installation, created as part of the Heritage Days, invites you on a journey of discovery and reverie, to encounter otherness and the richness of the world.
An exciting event for young and old, the curious and history buffs alike.
Activities and workshops: collaborative coloring of a fresco, "light paper butterflies" workshop, "green thumb" workshop, "a thousand and one colors" workshop (making a Gothic rose and stained glass paper), "clay monsters" workshop.
Nicolas Dubois, a wildlife photographer based in Mantes-la-Jolie, will show you his work. Share a special moment with this passionate artist. On the program: mini photo exhibition, animal videos, presentation of equipment, binoculars, feathers, skulls, books and guides, association leaflets...
This walk is an invitation to discover the town since the Middle Ages through the remains of its fortifications, but also an immersion in the daily life of the inhabitants through the trades strongly represented at that time: tanners, fishermen, stone masons...
Discover Mantes-la-Jolie and its history through the prism of the river, the city's founding element. The tour takes in the architecture of the various bridges, the social life of the old tanneries and the history of art, as many painters set up their easels facing the river.
Discover Mantes-la-Jolie and its history through the prism of the river, the city's founding element. The tour takes in the architecture of the various bridges, the social life of the old tanneries and the history of art, as many painters set up their easels facing the river.
On Cogez, Danion and Merklin organs. With Johann Vexo (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris and Cathédrale de Nancy)
History buffs will be on hand to present an exhibition on the Great Wars. Evocation of the Seine, through the destruction of the old bridge, but also of the river axis. You'll see objects from the daily lives of our elders from 14-18 and 39-45. You'll discover a 3D vision of certain battlefields with a period camera, as well as anecdotes about events and people who made the history of the Mantois region.
"Hop, it's time for a break!" Wobbly table turns - with or without sugar... for the duration of an Espresso, our old café comes to life and plunges you into the wacky universe of our Artists. A show combining Circus and Theater in the form of a Street Cabaret with 4 Circassians and a Musician (45 min.)
1/ Photo exhibition:
Saturday 21/09: 9:30am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 5pm
Sunday 22/09: 2pm to 5pm
Michel Bratyna and Cécile Leroy-Pruscha are exhibiting a selection from their photographic collection, with commentary by Marie-Christine Péri, in which photos and Bible texts interact.
2/Concert: Saturday 21/09 :4pm to 5pm
Corinne Rossignol will offer a concert of Gospel music echoing the connections between human cultures and the divine.
3/Conference: Sunday 09/22: 4pm to 5pm
Steve Deboos, professor of history, will give a lecture on "Les protestants du Mantois: entre racines locales et connexions européennes et internationales" (Protestants in the Mantois region: between local roots and European and international connections).
Michel Bratyna and Cécile Leroy-Pruscha exhibit a selection from their photographic collection, with commentary by Marie-Christine Péri, in which photos and texts from the Bible interact.
Corinne Rossignol will offer a concert of Gospel music echoing the connections between human cultures and the divine.
Steve Deboos, professor of history, will give a talk on "Protestants in the Mantois region: between local roots and European and international connections".
Happy Heritage Days in Yvelines!
Dates and Opening Time
From September 21, 2024 to September 22, 2024
Location
Mantes-la-Jolie
mantes-la-jolie
78200 Mantes la Jolie
Prices
Free
Official website
www.manteslajolie.fr
