Opened in 2006, this Mecca of Breton and scientific culture houses the Museum of Brittany, a Science Museum, Rennes Public Library and a conference hall. Designed by architect Christian de Portzamparc, the building is formed around a hall with permanent exhibitions (Bretagne est Univers [Brittany - a world in microcosm], Espace Dreyfus, on the 19th-century Dreyfus Affair, a geology exhibition, Roches Armoricaines and Laboratoire de Merlin, or Merlin’s Laboratory) and temporary exhibitions, the library and the conference hall.
The Museum of Brittany [Musée de Bretagne]
Located on the first floor, the Museum of Brittany is based around three permanent exhibition rooms (Bretagne est Univers, Bretagne des Mille et Une images [Brittany through a thousand pictures and Espace Dreyfus) and two rooms that house temporary exhibitions throughout the year. The history of Brittany, its traditions and inhabitants from the Paleolithic era to the 21st century, is laid out here in great detail. Several sequences are devoted to each historical period, illustrated with various display cases: the Bronze Age, Brittany at the time of the Dukes, the French Revolution, the two wars… The chronological sequencing highlights how periods of isolation alternated with periods of more open contact with the world. Sedan chair, box bed, china, embroidered waistcoat, tractor, model trawler, minitel – each object illustrates one of the facets of Breton culture, the deepest roots of which are showcased here.