The Jean Jaurès National Centre and Museum

The city of Castres has dedicated a museum to Jean Jaurès, a native son born in 1859, a champion of socialism and an exceptional orator, a committed pacifist assassinated by Raoul Villain on 31 July 1914 on the eve of World War I.

The Jean Jaurès National Centre and Museum is located in the centre of the city of Castres. This establishment is designed to present Jean Jaurès’ activities and work, while ensuring research work and coordinating events based on the fundamental subjects and ideas of the 19th and 20th centuries.


History

Opened in February 1988 and inaugurated on 16 November of that year by François Mitterand, President of the French Republic, it was founded thanks to the City of Castres, which wanted to showcase the wealth of the Jaurès collections at the museum founded in 1954 to increase understanding of this great thinker, orator, journalist, writer and politician. The effective cooperation of the Société d'Etudes Jaurésiennes, chaired by Mrs Madeleine Rébéroiux, and the precious help of many specialists and historians have made it possible to create a coherent, thorough and modern cultural unit.

 

The collections

The ground floor holds the temporary exhibitions (free admission) on various subjects dealing with the period between 1880 and 1914 (economics, society, everyday life, culture), showcasing regional artists or presenting current issues. There is a rest area, a bar and a counter where visitors can buy postcards, posters and publications about Jean Jaurès.

The first floor houses the museum (paid admission) which gives a chronological and thematic presentation of the great orator’s life:
37 panels, 6 windows and two video terminals showcase various objects and documents. Busts, statuettes, international works on Jean Jaurès, paintings, moulds and workers’ tools are also exhibited.

The second floor has a conference room equipped with audiovisual equipment for projecting films and slides and for organising conferences, debates and seminars (seating capacity: 50 people).

The third floor is dedicated to preservation, consultation, research and documentation: books, reviews, newspapers and archives, which are made available to everyone who wants to use them, notably students, journalists and researchers. The Museum’s library, these works can be consulted on site and are not on loan. Firstly, there is everything written by and about Jean Jaurès and all the texts published when he was alive, but also manuscripts, photographs, a rich iconographic collection and many newspapers and magazines such as “La Dépêche” from 1887 to 1914, “La Petite République” from 1893 to 1903, “La Revue de l'Enseignement Primaire” from 1904 to 1914, etc.

The documentation and research centre has many interesting and rare booklets as well as major collections such as “Le Mouvement Socialiste” (1899-1914), Compère-Morel’s “Encyclopédie Socialiste” (1912-1921), stenographic reports of all the Socialist conferences from 1900 to 1920, essential documents published by the Second International, etc.

Jean Jaurès National Centre and Museum

2 place Pélisson - 81100 CASTRES

Tél. 05 63 62 41 83 - Fax : 05 63 50 39 02

e-mail : jaures@ville-castres.fr

Museum Visitors’ Service

Hôtel de Ville - B.P. 406

81108 CASTRES Cedex

Tél. : 05.63.71.59.28

Fax : 05.63.71.59.26

E-mail : jb.alba@ville-castres.fr

City of Castres

Friends of the museum of Castres