Musée de la céramique - Centre de création

About the museum

From the 14th century to the early 20th century, Ger was an important center of Norman stoneware pottery, which supplied sturdy pots for storing food and transporting the butter of Isigny. In the late Middle Ages, the potters formed a guild encompassing some thirty hamlets. In 1840 the town counted 21 workshops and more than 700 skilled workers. Metal and then plastic replaced stoneware in everyday use, and the last firing at Placître took place in 1919.

Starting in 1989, the Manche département acquired and restored the potters' hamlet, excavated the kilns and repaired the buildings. The Musée régional de la poterie opened in 1997. In 2020 it was renamed the Musée de la céramique - Centre de création, to link the pottery heritage with contemporary ceramic creation.

The route passes through about a dozen buildings dating from the 16th to the 19th century, including workshops, a drying room and remains of tunnel kilns. The master potter's house and the barn display old pots and contemporary ceramics from the collections of the Manche and the FRAC Normandie.

Highlights

• Potters' hamlet from the 16th to the 19th century
• Tunnel kilns and production workshops
• Old pots in the master potter's house
• Contemporary ceramics from the Manche and FRAC Normandie collections
• Family modeling workshops

Permanent exhibition

• Hameau de potiers et collections de céramique – Visit of about a dozen buildings of a potters' hamlet, with workshops, tunnel kilns, old pots and contemporary ceramics from the Manche and FRAC Normandie collections.

Founded

1997

Operated by

Département de la Manche

Admission & discounts

The entrance ticket includes the temporary exhibitions. Payment by bank card, check, cash and holiday vouchers. No reservation needed for individual visitors.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is partially accessible to visitors with reduced mobility: two buildings have an upper floor reachable only by stairs. Wheelchair loan at reception, seating indoors and outdoors, accessible restrooms at reception and in the picnic room. One of the two activity rooms is on the ground floor. Group visits are adapted for visitors with reduced mobility, blind or visually impaired visitors, and people with intellectual disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

Two free activity booklets at reception, one for the youngest and one for children who read. Interactive game modules. Modeling workshops from age 4 with a potter: the piece is fired at the museum and can be collected about a month later. Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in a hamlet 4 km from the center of Ger, on the road from Ger to Sourdeval. Distances: Sourdeval 8 km, Mortain 10 km, Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët 25 km. GPS coordinates: 48°41.308 N, 0°50.196 W. Cyclists are eligible for the reduced low-carbon rate.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop (handcrafted gifts); hot drinks at reception; covered and open-air picnic tables, and an area with deckchairs under apple trees. No café mentioned.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit