French Foreign Legion Museum
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Foreign Legion Museum (french: link=no, Musée de la Légion étrangère) situated in
Aubagne Aubagne (, ''Aubanha'' in Occitan language, Occitan according to the classic norm or ''Aubagno'' according to the Mistralian norm) is a Commune in France, commune in the southern French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône. In ...
, France, represents the history and "arms history" accomplishments (french: link=no, faits d'armes) of the Foreign Legion throughout the course of various collections and expositions. The museum welcomes numerous visitors (almost 25,000 per year), as well as scholars and temporary expositions.


History

The museum is the heir of the ''Salle d'Honneur'' ("Hall of Honour") of the 1st Foreign 1er RE created in 1892 at Sidi bel-Abbès, in Algeria. That ''Salle d'Honneur'' assumed the current designation on
11 November Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, ''Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of the ...
1935. During the repatriation of the Legion back to metropolis, the series collections rejoined France, since 1962. However, in account with delay installations and construction of the new structures (french: link=no, bâtiments) at ''Camp de la Demande'', the first stone (french: link=no, 1re Pierre), under the presidency of Pierre Messmer, minister of the Armies took lieu in 1964 and the Museum opened doors on 30 April 1966. In 2003, the Museum was restructured; on another hand, the new organization implicated the creation of support structures. The Society of Friends of the Foreign Legion Museum (SAMLE) (french: link=no, Société des amis du musée de la Légion étrangère, SAMLE) was accordingly created at the request of the COMLE. This association ensures the judicial and financial support of the museum (object collections and functioning). Closed since 12 March 2012, the Museum has been the object of extension works since January 2011 aiming to double the surface by the construction of a new wing of 1000 meter squared. This subscription was in lieu to finance this enlargement of 3 million euros. This new museum, designated as « Louvre du Légionnaire » (The Louvre of the Legionnaire), was inaugurated on 30 April 2013 following the arms ceremony marking the 150th Anniversary of the
Battle of Camarón The Battle of Camarón (french: Bataille de Camerone) which occurred over ten hours on 30 April 1863 between the Foreign Legion of the French Army and the Mexican army, is regarded as a defining moment in the Foreign Legion's history. A small ...
. The museum was opened to the public since 7 May 2014.


Organization


The Museum of Aubagne

The ground floor is articulated around the ''Salle d'Honneur'' (Honorary Hall). This Honorary Hall is the passing cornerstone of all Legionnaires. This Honorary Hall is engraved with the names of all Legion
Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
who died for France. This ''Salle d'Honneur'' conserves the wooden hand of Legion Officer
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Danjou Danjou is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Félix Danjou (1812–1866), French organist, composer-arranger and organist * Frédéric Danjou (born 1974), French footballer * Isabelle Danjou (born 1969), French rower *Jean Danjo ...
, relic of the Legion, presented to the troops of men during the solemn ceremony of Camarón, on 30 April. The ground floor also features the decorations hall as well as the museum boutique store. The first floor features the battle campaigns hall, organized within a chronological order and occupies in space the entire floor, through displays, with different époques as well as the different conflicts throughout the course which the Legion illustrated capability. The courtyard of the museum is occupied with tanks and cannons types belonging to different campaign eras and also house a couple of tombstones, brought forth from far away distant campaigns. The back of the Museum, giving on the arms place (french: link=no, Place d'armes) of the
1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...
1er RE, opens on the Monument morts de la Legion, grand sculpture Pourquet (french: Pourquet), representing a world map guarded by four legionnaires and inaugurated in 1931 during the centennial commemoration of the Legion at Sidi bel-Abbès. This entire world map sculpture was entirely demounted to be transported during the move of 1962.


The Legionnaire Uniform Museum

Hailing from a private collection, the legionnaire uniform museum is an extension of the Legion museum delocalized at the corps of the
Institution des Invalides de la Legion Etrangere Institution des Invalides de la Legion Etrangere (french: Institution des invalides de la Légion étrangère) is one of various detachments reserved exclusively for personnel having served in the Foreign Legion and for the most part, is also s ...
. The museum regroups 120 mannequin, illustrating the evolutions of the uniforms since the creation of the Foreign Legion in 1831 until the modern presently époque. Unique Museum in the world, set-up required numerous years of work on behalf of a passionate individual to refit and place all the pieces of equipment.


Center of documentation

The center of documentation, directed by the adjoint of the conserving authority of the Museum, is a working space allowing research historians, authors, conference delegates and scholars to pour themselves into the depth of documentaries housed by the Legion. Strong with more than 4500 books and 10 000 iconic pieces, the center of documentation has for vocation to ground and treat all the media inventory of the Institution. Consultations have lieu under the authorization of the
général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...
Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
of the
Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
. Salle d'Honneur; Each
Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
regiment houses a regimental ''Salle d'Honneur'' (Regimental Honorary Hall), in form of a museum, along with a regimental memorial dedicated to the respectful
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
.


Gallery

File:Monument morts legion.JPG


Uniforms

File:1CLtambour - 3REI - 1931.jpg, 1re Classe Legionnaire tambour du 3e REI – 1931–1939 – Morocco File:LTN-4REI-1934.jpg, Lieutenant de la batterie de marche du 4th Foreign Infantry Regiment, 4e REI – 1934 – Morocco File:Adjudant 1er régiment étranger de cavalerie 1939-45.jpg,
Adjudant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...
du 1er REC – 1944–1945 – campagne de France et Allemagne
File:SGT Bie saharienne portee 1939.jpg,
Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
de la batterie saharienne portée – Sahara – 1939–1940 (Mounted Saharan Battery) File:LEG 13DBLE 1942.jpg, Légionnaire of the 13e DBLE File:LEG CEFEO 1949.jpg, Sergeant du Corps expéditionnaire français en Extrême-Orient – 1949–1952
File:LEG CSPLE.jpg, Légionnaire of the Saharan Mounted Companies of the Legion CSPL File:LTN - 13DBLE - 1942.jpg,
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
of the 13e DBLE – North Africa – 1942–1943 File:SCH 3REI 1952.jpg, Sergent-chef porte-
fanion A fanion is a small flag used by the French military; the equivalent of an American guidon or British company colour. The name derives from the Italian word gonfanone, or gonfanon. They were often attached to a small staff which was placed in the ...
au 3e REI – 1952–1954 –
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...


Regimental Salle d'Honneur

File:Musée 2eREP.JPG, Salle d'Honneur of the CEPs,
BEPs Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to "shift" profits from higher-tax jurisdictions to lower-tax jurisdictions or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic a ...
, and
REPs Reps is a small town in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Mirditë. It was the seat of the former municipality Orosh Orosh (or ) is a small village in Mirditë within ...
at
Camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
Raffalli in Corsica of 2e REP.


Attendance


Temporary exhibitions

* 2018 : exhibition Zinoviev –
Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...
* 2019 : ** Photos exhibition Caroline Thirion ** Exhibition Guillaume de Saint-Phalle (sculpteur) ** Exhibition "Noël légionnaire"


See also

*
Major (France) () in France, is a senior superior military rank (french: grade militaire) across various military and security institutions with history dating back well beyond the 18th century. Typically, the contemporary rank of Major is situated differen ...
*
Képi Blanc (publication) ''Képi Blanc'' is the monthly French magazine of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The press magazine is sold exclusively under membership subscription. The subscription fees are channeled to the ''Foyer d'entraide de la Légion étrangè ...
*
French Foreign Legion Veteran Societies Federation (Légion étrangère) The Foreign Legion Veteran Societies Federation (french: Fédération des sociétés des Anciens de la Légion étrangère, FSALE) is an association of the ''association law type of 1901'' (french: Association loi de 1901) federating different rep ...


References

{{coord, 43, 17, 26, N, 5, 33, 26, E, region:FR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title French Foreign Legion Military and war museums in France Museums in Bouches-du-Rhône