Museum of the Resistance in the Morvan (Musée de la Résistance en Morvan)
The story of the Morvan maquis, told in the heart of the forests where they fought.
- Museum
- 1 h 04 from Beaune
- Allow 1 to 1.5 hours
- Saint-Brisson
€225one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- museeresistancemorvan.fr
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 04 by road (81 km), €225 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
With its dense forests and scattered farms, the Morvan sheltered many groups of the French Resistance during the Second World War. This museum at the Maison du Parc in Saint-Brisson tells their story through documents, photographs, weapons and personal letters. It is a thoughtful introduction to the memorial sites across the massif.
What you will see
The visit runs through three rooms: the Occupation, the Resistance, and the Liberation and memory. Archive documents, clandestine newspapers, uniforms and photographs bring the period close. Halfway through, a digital gallery immerses you in daily life in a maquis camp, with its actions, its leaders, its hunger and its fear. The museum is a good first step before following the Chemins de mémoire, a network of marked sites across the Morvan.
History
Historians from the University of Burgundy and former Resistance fighters created the museum in 1983. President François Mitterrand inaugurated it on 26 June 1983. It is run by the association Morvan terre de Résistances, which also looks after the memorial at Dun-les-Places. For its 40th anniversary in 2023, the museum was completely renovated and modernised. It sits within the Maison du Parc, beside one of the houses of the Morvan ecomuseum.
The Morvan's geography and climate made it a natural refuge for the maquis, groups of men and women who took to the woods to escape the German occupation and fight it. The massif paid a heavy price. Several Morvan villages suffered brutal reprisals in 1944, and a memorial now stands at Dun-les-Places. Many other sites of memory mark the places where the maquis lived and fought.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
Allow an hour to an hour and a half. The museum shares the Maison du Parc estate at Saint-Brisson, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Beaune, so combine it with a walk around the Étang Taureau or a visit to the memorial at Dun-les-Places. It is open from late March to mid-November, and closed on Tuesdays except in July and August. Please check the official website for opening times.
Around here
What to combine with Museum of the Resistance in the Morvan on the same day, nearest first.
Questions
Museum of the Resistance in the Morvan is about 1 h 04 from Beaune by road (81 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €225 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The Chemins de mémoire link about thirty landscaped sites in 15 communes of the Morvan, each marking a place where the Resistance lived, fought or is remembered.
Sources
Museum of the Resistance in the Morvan with a private driver
€225 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests