Sabres and its ecomuseum of Marquèze, unique in France

Sabres, in the Landes, is famous for its healthy air with balsamic scents and its district of Marquèze which has become the Ecomuseum of the Grande Lande.

 

The Ecomuseum of Marquèze and its Pavilion

The Ecomuseum of the Grande Lande proposes the discovery of its most important places: the district of Marquèze and its Pavilion.

The Ecomuseum of Marquèze, created in 1969 by the Regional Natural Park of the Landes de Gascogne, is one of the very first ecomuseums in France. I

Its mission is to preserve, study and transmit the heritage of the Grande Lande by reconstructing the living environment of its inhabitants in the 19th century.

150 years ago, this original society of shepherd-farmers was in such harmony with its environment that it disappeared when the moor gave way to the forest. Marquèze tells the story of this unique link between a society and its environment, its economic, cultural and social consequences in one of the largest open-air museums in France.

Accessible to the public by a train with carriages dating from 1906 and 1911, classified as Historic Monuments, the Pavillon de Marquèze opened in 2008 at the Sabres train station. It brings together, on 20 hectares, the most characteristic elements of peasant life at the end of the 19th century. The visitor will be able to discover in a large wooded space of oaks in the middle of the forest of pines, the framework of life and work of the former inhabitants.

To reconstitute this living environment, Marquèze was the first ecomuseum in France to use the technique of building transfers. Two thirds of the buildings from the surrounding districts were transferred, and the landscapes of the fields, the resinous forest, and even the milling area were reconstituted to recreate the district as it was in the 19th century, just like the others.

The breed of sheep from the moor, the cultivation of ancient cereals, the gardens, the collections refurnishing the houses, complete this staging of a society at the dawn of its metamorphosis.

 

A train to the Pavilion

4 km separate the district of Marquèze from the town of Sabres, because, like the other districts of the Grande Lande, the district of Marquèze is isolated.

From 1889 to the 1960s, the Sabres-Labouheyre line was used to transport passengers and merchandise, and helped to open up the neighborhood. Today, the train is the only way to access the district of Marquèze, its cars dating from 1903 to 1910 are classified as historical monuments.

Built in 2008, the Paviilon of the Marquèze Ecomuseum is located in front of the old station of Sabres, the counter of the Ecomuseum. It is a space dedicated to exhibitions and to the conservation of the 25,000 objects that constitute the collections of the ecomuseum. The exhibitions presented in the Pavilion complete, illustrate and broaden the subject presented in the Marquèze district.

 

Healing" stone and listed church

Sabres is also known for its Celtic stone of Grimann called the "raised stone". Around this stone, several legends and traditions were born. For example, it was believed that children who were slow to walk were presented there to enable them to take their first steps.

The church of Saint Michel was built by the Benedictines in the 11th century. The first restorations date back to the 15th century. Today, the church is classified as a historical monument, except for its porch and its side aisles. The building has a bell tower with five openings where the bells are housed and flanked by a cylindrical turret with loopholes. Inside, in the choir, there are wall paintings in a baroque style in trompe l'oeil from the 18th century and restored.

The first restorations date from the 15th century.

A cult is dedicated to Saint Michel, in Sabres with the representation in the middle of the tympanum of the church

 

Ecomuseum of Marquèze
route de la Gare
40630 Sabres

Tel : 05.58.08.31.31


www.marqueze.fr

 

https://www.mairie-sabres.fr/

 

https://www.marqueze.fr/

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

(free version)

 

 


To go further....

LE CHEMIN DE FER TOURISTIQUE DES LANDES DE GASCOGNE - SABRES MARQUEZE LABOUHEYRE

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