Musée-hôtel Le Vergeur - Maison Hugues Krafft

About the museum

The Le Vergeur town mansion on the Place du Forum in Reims was built from the 13th century in a district of wealthy merchants. In the 16th century, the Reims burgher Nicolas Le Vergeur converted it into a town mansion with Renaissance façades arranged around a courtyard. It was later listed as a historic monument and now houses the museum.

The museum owes much to Hugues Krafft (1853–1935), traveller, photographer and collector. He bought the house in 1910 to save a painted wooden ceiling from the Gothic hall of the 13th century from being exported to the United States; it has since disappeared. In 1909 he had founded the Société des Amis du Vieux Reims, whose headquarters he set up in the house. After the First World War he financed the reconstruction of the building, which bombing had largely destroyed. The garden contains several old façades saved from destruction, including a small museum of Reims architecture.

Today the visit presents a middle-class interior from the 18th to the early 20th century. The Salon d’honneur displays a large portrait by the Dutch painter Jacob Backer, and the Renaissance gallery shows remains of Gallic and Gallo-Roman Durocortorum. On the second floor, the reception rooms are decorated with objects Krafft brought back from his travels; on the third floor, more intimate rooms tell of his family life and his work as a photographer. The collections of the Société des Amis du Vieux Reims also include complete series of Dürer prints, among them the Apocalypse and the Great Passion.

Highlights

• Courtyard and Renaissance façades of the Hôtel Le Vergeur
• Middle-class interior from the 18th to the early 20th century
• Objects, clothing and photographs Hugues Krafft brought back from his travels
• Dürer prints series (Apocalypse and Great Passion)
• Garden with old façades saved from destruction

Permanent exhibitions

• Intérieur bourgeois et collections d'Hugues Krafft – Reception rooms, smoking room, boudoir and dining room decorated with travel souvenirs, followed by private apartments and photographs by Hugues Krafft.
• Galerie Renaissance et jardin – Gallic and Gallo-Roman remains of Durocortorum in the gallery, and old façades saved from destruction in the garden.

Operated by

Ville de Reims (Musées de Reims)

Visitors per year

approx. 16,867

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month, European Heritage Days (Journées du Patrimoine), Rendez-vous aux jardins, Museum Night and National Archaeology Days

The price shown is for the guided tour, the only visit format offered. Tickets are sold only at the reception desk. Admission is also free for young people from the Mission locale, job seekers, RSA recipients, holders of a press card or ICOM card, teachers preparing a school visit, and youth centres in Reims. Payment: cash, cheque, bank card and ANCV holiday vouchers. You may leave and return on the same day with the day ticket.

Accessibility

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

Access is limited to the first floor. Only guide dogs for the blind and assistance dogs are admitted. For deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors, the museums of Reims offer a contact space in French Sign Language via webcam.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

For children, the museum offers a discovery booklet for the museum and its garden, as well as workshops during school holidays (for example a tricotin knitting course for ages 8 to 12). Strollers are accepted in the museums of Reims, but a baby carrier is recommended when the collections are upstairs and there is no elevator.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the Place du Forum, at the corner of the Rue du Marc.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Coat check: not available
• Lockers: not available
• Wi-Fi: not available

The museums of Reims state that they do not offer Wi-Fi. This museum has no cloakroom or lockers, and no food service is available on site.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

The museums of Reims offer room hire for cocktails, seminars and working lunches; a brochure presents room hire at the Musée-hôtel Le Vergeur. Contact: privatisations-musees@reims.fr.

Plan your visit