Its sizeable collection brings visitors into close contact with history.

Large numbers of objects, archive documents, materials, photographs and weaponry are displayed in three rooms: Occupation, Resistance, and Liberation and Remembrance.

Midway through the visit, a digital portrait from the Morvan “Digital Gallery” plunges visitors into the world of the maquis rural resistance groups.

The Occupation

The first room, on the Occupation, looks at patriotic feeling and the defence of Morvan from 1940, followed by the impact of the German Occupation: occupied towns and villages, restrictions on freedoms, rationing, requisitioning, Nazi repression, and so on.

The Resistance

In the face of German and Vichyist propaganda, the Resistance organised itself, with underground newspapers and pamphlets, brave acts by local personalities, etc.

This second room presents the first acts of resistance through to the formation of the maquis, through a variety of materials, photographs, weapons and clothing, and the assistance provided by the Allies (parachute drops, containers, letters, mannequins, etc.).

Liberation and Remembrance

Morvan played a strategic role in the liberation of the region.

The maquis liberated Morvan in September 1944, through acts of sabotage, fighting and pitched battles, represented here by photos, reconstructions and objects.

The visit ends with a look at remembrance and the philosophy of the Resistance, through photographs of expressions of remembrance, steles and monuments (poems, texts, letters, etc.).

Digital Gallery

“The Morvan Maquis” is a new digital portrait from Morvan’s “Digital Gallery”.

Situated at midway point in the permanent exhibition, “The Morvan Maquis” is an immersive projection space presenting daily life in the maquis.

In this space, a film is shown on two screens: one shows documents directly related to maquis life, while the other places events in the national and international context of the war.

The installation immerses the visitor in the world of the Morvan maquis, showing how they were organised on a day-to-day basis, and examining their actions, their camps, the roles played by their leaders, and the hunger, fear and courage involved.

From personal stories to major historical events, the portrait focuses on the people, both men and women, involved in these maquis groups, who ultimately played a key role in the liberation of France.

Educational activities

The museum makes an excellent contribution to curriculum requirements in history, history of art and civic education for schools and colleges. It offers students and teachers a practical approach to various themes specific to the Second World War, as well as the concepts of human rights, freedom, political engagement, tolerance and solidarity. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the values of the French Republic and the founding principles of European unity.

Finally, it offers students a practical insight into civic engagement.

Exhibitions, conferences, film screenings, national events (European Heritage Days, European Museum Night, etc.), ceremonies and more

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Educational offering (workshops, tailored visits, learning resources, etc.)

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Source : ©Musée de la Résistance en Morvan

“Concerning my destination this winter, the King could not make me happier than by allowing me to spend two months’ time with my poor family, all the more so in that I have only been there twice in the past three years; and I had to leave a fortnight later, without ever having the time to do more than five sols worth of business. I beg you to be so kind as to arrange leave for me to do so, the season is not very welcoming for a visit to such a lowly land as my own, but I would much rather be there in the heart of the harshest of winters than not to go there at all.” Letter from Vauban to Louvois, from Mannheim, 6 November 1688. In. Anne Blanchard, Vauban, chap. XVIII: “Chez moi”, p. 458, Paris, Fayard, 1996.

Ten kilometres from Vézelay, on the site of the ancient Roman road running from Sens to Autun, stands the Château de Bazoches, the former family residence of the Maréchal de Vauban, now a private property classified as a historical monument in 1994 and open to the public since 1997.

Built in the 12^th century (around 1180) by Jean de Bazoches, the trapezoidal-shaped feudal castle comprises three round towers and a rectangular keep to which a larger tower with a wall-walk and machicolation was added in the 14^th century.

Successively owned by the Seigneurs of Bazoches, Chastellux, Montmorillon and La Perrière, Bazoches was acquired by Vauban in 1675 thanks to an 80,000-pound gratification granted to him by King Louis XIV following the victorious siege of Maastricht (1673). The château had formerly been the property of Jacques Ier Le Prestre, the Maréchal’s grandfather, following his second marriage to Françoise de la Perrière, the Count de Bazoches’ illegitimate daughter whom he had recognised. After a confusing succession, Vauban’s father, Albin or Urbain Le Prestre, son of this second marriage, went broke and had to abandon the château to live in Saint-Léger-Foucheret.

When he moved into the château, Vauban made many changes and transformed it into a military barracks. In the recently restored Grand Gallery, Vauban, the father of military engineering, carried out studies and drew up plans for over three hundred constructions and fortresses and developed methods for attacking and defending fortifications, making him the unquestioned master of siege strategy and military architecture.

With a little imagination, it is easy to picture the frenetic activity that went on in this part of the château, from where Vauban’s instructions were sent out after completing his studies. Dispatch riders were constantly ready to head out for every corner of the country with the Maréchal’s plans and orders in metal cylinders. This required building vast stables that could house some fifty horses. It was also here that he thought out and wrote the twelve illustrated volumes of what he called, not without humour, his “idlenesses”, his reflections on a multitude of subjects such as agriculture, forests, coinage, sciences, etc.

We should also mention his many studies on the fiscal, economic and political issues of the times. His writings on the region and the “geographical description of the Election of Vézelay” (1696) bring together a great deal of information on the population and resources of the 55 parishes in the area.

With 14 proposals aimed at reducing the problem of poverty in this region of the Kingdom, the description provides important testimony on the French population and the mentality of the nobility at the beginning of the 18^th century. It announces “the project for a Royal tithe” in which Vauban, observing the Kingdom’s extreme poverty and the inefficiency of the tax system of the day, proposes to raise a single tax and to unify the collection of the gabelle (salt tax). This novel text was published without legal authorisation in 1707, causing him to fall into semi-disgrace with the King.

The Maréchal actually spent very little time at Bazoches. He only came when he could take an exceptional leave of absence, notably in 1687, 1690, 1696, 1701 and 1704. He came to be with his wife and his two daughters, Jeanne, the younger, born on 28 October 1678, and Charlotte, the elder.

Vauban died at his family residence on 30 March 1707. He was buried on the following 16 April at the church in Bazoches, in Saint Sébastien chapel, which had been built upon his orders.

Today, the current owners, descendants of Charlotte de Vauban, carefully preserve many souvenirs of their illustrious ancestor among the rich furnishings, such as the Maréchal’s armour, considered a relic by Military Engineering Officers. Along with the 150-m² gallery which can now be booked to organise lunches or dinners, visitors can notably see Vauban’s antechamber and bedroom as well as his office, the yellow salon and the inner courtyard whose 17^th-century decorations were recently restored.

Château de Bazoches

58190 BAZOCHES

Tel.: +33 (0)3.86.22.10.22

Fax: +33 (0)3.86.22.12.37

E-mail: chateau.bazoches@wanadoo.fr

You can visit on your own (guided tours are available for groups, upon written request). The visit takes about 1½ hours. The text of the tour is available in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Japanese. The Château is fully furnished and heated

Opening hours and admission: see the Château de Bazoche website

Official website of the Château de Bazoches

Covering 300,000 ha, the Morvan regional nature reserve, which was created in 1970, currently includes 117 communes 5 cities partners for a population of more than 74,000. The Morvan relief is situated in medium mountains and rests primarily on a granite base and, on the outskirts, on calcareous soil. The landscape consists mainly of farmland criss-crossed by hedges and prairies, forests with broad-leaved trees and conifers, a permanent presence of water (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams), of granite and of the buildings constructed out of the latter. If the scenery is the mark of man, buildings tell a lot about his history. The Eduens (a Gallic tribe) and the Gallo-Romans considered the Morvan to be an important area as testified by Bibracte - today the largest archaeological site in Europe dedicated to the Celtic civilisation - and Autun. Roman art is well represented thanks to the treasures discovered in Vézelay, Saulieu and Autun. The roads of Morvan are surrounded by castles, churches, chapels, places of worship and stones of legend, as well as a multitude of smaller heritage sites.

Dedicated to the theme of exchanges and migration, the eco-museum of Morvan, with its 5 sites each focusing on a specific theme, will take you on a journey of discovery through the history and soul of the MORVAN. One of these sites, located in Saint-Léger-Vauban, is devoted entirely to Vauban. He was born in the region and spent his formative years there, forging his personality to become not only the Marshal that we know about but also a great humanist as proved by his writings, the most famous of which is 'the project for a royal tithe'. In this work, he notes the poverty of the kingdom and the ineffectiveness of its tax system, and proposes the introduction of a single tax. This work, which appeared in 1707, was condemned by Louis XIV and left its author in disgrace. A museum founded in 1983, located at the Saint-Brisson site, is also dedicated to the Resistance in Morvan. The hills, forests, twisting ancient paths and the spirit of the locals, the morvandiaux, made the Morvan a perfect place for members of the Resistance to take refuge. In 1944, there were more than twenty maquis in the Morvan, spread over an area of 150 km². With its well preserved landscape, specific historical riches and diverse heritage, the Morvan is and always will be a place of sanctuary.
The Saint-Brisson site is located on a property covering 40 ha, with buildings that date back to the beginning of the 19th century. It contains the 'Maison du Parc', which serves as the administrative centre of the Morvan regional nature reserve, the 'Maison des hommes et des paysages' (the name of the Morvan eco-museum) and the Resistance Museum. Contact: Parc naturel régional du Morvan Maison du Parc 58230 SAINT-BRISSON Tel.: 33/ (0)3 86 78 79 57 Fax: 33/ (0)3 86 78 74 22 E-mail:parcmorvan.ot@wanadoo.fr