A bust from the Gallo-Roman period is displayed at the Golden Court Museum in Metz, France. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A bust from the Gallo-Roman period is displayed at the Golden Court Museum in Metz, France. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Gallo-Roman period artifacts line the entrance to the Golden Court Museum. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The Golden Court Museum has artifacts and art from many different time periods in the city's past, including this early Christian inscription. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A statue of St. Denis from the medieval period is displayed in the Chevremont Granary. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The 15th-century Chevremont Granary at the Golden Court Museum has a variety of statues from the medieval era on display. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The Golden Court Museum in Metz, France, features 6,000 square meters of Gallo-Roman and medieval art and architecture. The museum also features a fine arts gallery with works dating back to the 16th century. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Gallo-Roman period coins are displayed at the Golden Court Museum in Metz, France. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
This section of a Roman-era sewer was discovered during construction work in 1935 to expand the Golden Court Museum. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Deceased residents of Metz, France, from the Merovingian era are on display at the Golden Court Museum. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
A 13th-century wooden ceiling panel is on display at the Golden Court Museum in Metz, France. This panel, along with the others on display in the museum, are some of the oldest known in the world. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
The painting collection at the Golden Court Museum has paintings from the 16th to the late 20th century. The museum also features a selection of 200 modern works by 76 artists. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
"Vue de la cathedrale de Metz," by Jacques-Dominique-Charles Gavard is on display at the Golden Court Museum. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Visitors to the Golden Court Museum look at a map of historical sites in Metz, France. (Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes)
Europe is well-known for many things, especially art, history and architecture. Whether it’s the vast collection of the world-famous Louvre or the countless castles and ruins dotting the German countryside, fine arts, historical artifacts and ancient buildings can be seen around every corner.
About 85 miles west of Kaiserslautern, in Metz, France, is a museum that houses all three of these European specialties in one location.
The Musee de La Cour d’Or, or Golden Court Museum, has more than 64,000 square feet of exhibit space, but the art and artifacts are not the only historically significant objects to see. The 42 display areas and rooms are sometimes in, and part of, historical structures as well.
The museum complex incorporates the former Petites Carmes Abbey, 16th-century Trinitaires Church and the 15th-century Chevremont Granary. Those buildings were erected on the site of a 2nd-century Roman bathhouse that was discovered during construction work to expand the museum in 1935. The buildings and ancient bathhouse are incorporated into the modern layout of the museum complex and display spaces.
More than 2,000 years of Metz’s history is on display in the museum, starting with the Gallo-Roman period and sections of the excavated bath house. Several other rooms contain relics from that time, including re-created sections of architecture, carved stone artwork and articles that residents used during their daily life in what was then known as Divodurum.
The medieval-period collection features a grave site with the Merovingian-era occupants from the early Middle Ages still inside, the Chevremont granary lined with statues from the 12th to 16th centuries and three sets of some of the oldest-known painted wooden ceilings in the world. There is also an abundance of ceramics, furniture, stained-glass windows and other examples of Gothic and Romanesque art to view.
The museum ends in the fine-arts galleries with a collection of paintings that date from the 16th century. There are also various paintings and decorative art pieces from the Renaissance and 200 works by 76 artists from the second half of the 20th century representing modern art. The modern art collection highlights abstract art from the Modern School of Paris.
It took me close to two hours to trek through the winding rooms, hallways and stairways, though a portion of that time was spent using my smartphone to translate the mostly French-language signs. Thankfully, the museum provides a visitor’s guide with the rooms, display spaces and a synopsis of each main section in English. Only a few of the more notable individual works were identified, though.
The Musee de La Cour d’Or (Golden Court Museum) DIRECTIONS
The museum is located at 2 Rue du Haut Poirier, 57000 Metz, France. From the A31, take the Metz Centre exit. Parking is available at the Cathedrale and Saint Jacques parking lots.
TIMES
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:45-5 p.m. daily; closed on Tuesdays
COSTS
5 euros (about $5.32) for adults, 3.30 euros for students. Free on the first Sunday of every month.
FOOD
There are many dining options available in Metz. The museum is a short walk to shopping and restaurants.
INFORMATION
There is an English-language option on the website www.musee.metzmetropole.fr.
