The Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie or Citéco is a museum dedicated to the economy, located in Paris, France. It was inaugurated on 15 May 2019, and opened to the public on 14 June 2019. The museum was financed with patronage from the

Banque de France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

, and is located in the

Hotel Gaillard A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

History

The

announced the creation of the Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie during a press conference held by Governor Christian Noyer on May 25, 2011. The museum was proposed as an educational facility, inviting the general public to discover economics, tackle issues often met in everyday life, and encourage a better understanding of world events. The Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie mainly addresses teachers and students, to help illustrate concepts studied at school (around one third of the estimated 130,000 annual visitors are expected to be students).

Partners

The project is led by the

, in collaboration with several partners.Press kit: Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie.
/ref> Among these are: * The Ministry of National Education (France) supports the project and has delegated several teachers to help on the content of the Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie. * Existing museums of other Central Banks, like those of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

or the Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE), in Mexico. * Universcience, and especially the

Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie ("City of Science and Industry", abbreviated la CSI) or simply CSI is the biggest science museum in Europe. Located in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is one of the three dozen French Cultur ...

: Christian Noyer, Governor of the

, and

Claudie Haigneré Claudie (André-Deshays) Haigneré (born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor, politician and former astronaut with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (1985–1999) and the European Space Agency (1999–2002). Background and training Born in ...

, head of Universcience, have signed a cooperation agreement on the museography. * The ''Institut pour l'Education Financière du Public'' joined in late 2010. * The

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

: Governor Christian Noyer and President of the

Bruno Racine Bruno Racine (born 17 December 1951 in Paris) is a French civil servant and writer. Early life and education Racine is the son of Pierre Racine (a conseiller d'État) and Edwina Morgulis, Bruno Racine was born in Paris. He studied at the Éco ...

signed a cooperation agreement on January 3, 2012, regarding the presentation of coin and banknote collections in the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie. * The Rencontres des SES: initiative developed by the Académie de Paris, where 11th grade students studying Economics and Social Sciences are invited to meet economists, in order to discuss current issues. * The Little Conferences of the Nouveau Théâtre de Montreuil announced a partnership on February 11, 2012. The partnership is developed around their shared objective of increasing young people's access to knowledge.

Building

Citéco is hosted in the

. The neo-gothic mansion was designed by architect Jules Février at the request of Emile Gaillard, banker from the city of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

and amateur and collector of

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

art. The Hotel Gaillard was sold to the

in 1919. From 1919 to 1921, architectural works were directed by architect

Alphonse Defrasse Alphonse Alexandre Defrasse (30 September 1860, Paris - 18 March 1939, Paris) was a French architect; best known as the Chief Architect for the Banque de France. Biography His father was a merchant. He entered the École Nationale Supérieure ...

for the

, especially the building of a steel structure that housed the cashier's desks and other services to the visitors. He imagined the impressive vault that could be accessed by a lift bridge, over two-meter-deep moats.Historical study on the Hotel Gaillard, led by the ''Groupe de Recherche Art Histoire Architecture et Littérature'' (GRAHAL), on request of the Banque de France. Listed as a historic monument in 1999, this branch closed in 2006, as a consequence of the plan to close half of the

's French branches.

Architectural contest

Citéco was the object of an architectural contest. Over 100 teams of architects and museographers participated. The contest aimed at transforming this former bank branch into an educational Cité, while respecting the architecture of the historic building. The winner was selected by the

from six finalists chosen by the contest jury. The winning team is made of Ateliers Lion for the architecture, François Confino for the museography, and Eric Pallot as architect in charge of historic monuments.

Gallery

File:Hôtel Gaillard - Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie - travaux Grand Hall 2.jpg, alt=Grand Lobby construction, Grand Lobby construction works, conceived by the architect Alphonse Defrasse, 1921 File:Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie-salle du conseil.jpg, alt=boardroom of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie, Boardroom of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie, architectural and museographic contest, 2011 File:Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie-salle des coffres.jpg, alt=Bank Vault of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie, Bank Vault of the future Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie, architectural and museographic contest, 2011

References

External links

Cité de l'économie et de la monnaie project website
*
Ateliers Lion websiteAgence Confino website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cite de l'economie et de la monnaie Museums of economics Economics education Museums in Paris