Musée de l'horlogerie de Morteau
Watchmaking museum housed in the Château Pertusier in Morteau, currently closed and being converted into the Cité des Horlogers.
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About the museum
The Musée de l'horlogerie de Morteau was founded in 1985 on the initiative of Constant Vaufrey, a former watchmaker and local elected official who wanted to preserve the watchmaking heritage of the Franche-Comté and make it known to visitors. The Val de Morteau owes much of its prosperity to watchmaking.
The museum occupies the Château Pertusier, a Renaissance-style building dating from the 16th century, which served as a gendarmerie from 1938 to 1985 before housing the collections. The route presented clocks, watchmakers' tools and watches, as well as reconstructed workshops illustrating about two centuries of industrial know-how. Among the pieces mentioned were the first wristwatches designed for pilots in wartime and an astronomical clock.
The museum has been closed since October 2023 for building work lasting at least three years. Its collections are now managed by the Communauté de communes du Val de Morteau. The Château Pertusier has been a construction site since September 2026 and is being converted into the Cité des Horlogers, whose opening is planned for the first half of 2028. In the meantime, a selection of the collections of the former museums in Morteau and Villers-le-Lac is on display at L'Ébauche in Villers-le-Lac.
Highlights
- Collections of clocks, watchmakers' tools and watches
- Reconstructed workshops of industrial watchmaking
- First wristwatches for wartime pilots
- Astronomical clock
- Château Pertusier in Renaissance style
- Founded
- 1985
- Operated by
- Communauté de communes du Val de Morteau
Admission & discounts
The museum is closed for construction; the Cité des Horlogers is due to open in the first half of 2028.
Accessibility
The museum is closed for construction; the Cité des Horlogers is due to open in the first half of 2028.
Kids & families
The museum is closed for construction; the Cité des Horlogers is due to open in the first half of 2028.
Getting there & parking
The museum is closed; the temporary exhibition space L'Ébauche is located in Villers-le-Lac, a few kilometers away.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum is closed for construction; the Cité des Horlogers is due to open in the first half of 2028.
Events & venue rental
The museum is closed for construction; the Cité des Horlogers is due to open in the first half of 2028.
