Description of the attraction
The Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris is the oldest technical museum in Europe. It is located in the building of the Church of Saint-Martin-de-Chan and was founded, oddly enough, by the very French Revolution that destroyed so much.
In 1794, a supporter of civil rights and education, a member of the National Convention, Abbot Gregoire presented to the convention a project for the establishment of the Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. According to the abbot, the aim of the Conservatory should be "the study and preservation of machines and tools, drawings and models … of all existing arts and crafts." The idea of the Temple of Progress captured the MPs.
The new institution received under its jurisdiction a great many private collections confiscated from the previous owners. A large space was required to accommodate them, and by 1798 it was found in the Parisian church of Saint-Martin-de-Chan, which was thoroughly damaged during the revolution. It was erected during the reign of Henry I, rebuilt in different centuries, but retained its Gothic style.
In 1802, already under Napoleon, who greatly appreciated science and technology, the Museum of Arts and Crafts was opened in the former church. Its peculiarity is that technical progress constantly changes the exposure. During the 19th century, steam mechanisms, blacksmiths and paper-making machines, and the first aircraft appeared here. In the 20th century, cars, an electron microscope, and the first computers came to the halls. Then came the era of space and robots.
In the nineties of the last century, all expositions of the museum were completely reorganized - today they organically combine the most diverse technological eras. The counting machine of 1899 is adjacent to a supercomputer here, the famous Foucault pendulum - with mechanical "dinosaurs" of the era of diesel fuel and fuel oil. And they all rest under the strict Gothic vaults of a medieval temple.
The museum is part of the National Graduate School of Arts and Crafts. Today it is one of the most prestigious French engineering universities, which trains engineers, masters and candidates of technical sciences.
