The Musée de la marine de Loire is located in Saint Clément des levées... it makes sense!
Indeed, if the town remained almost uninhabited until the first earth and stone dyke was built, in the 17th century, it then took off according to the development of the Loire Marine which, in the 18th and 19th centuries, was at its peak.
At that time, Saint Clément des levées had 7 ports!
Pretty houses were built, some of which were almost "straddling" the dyke, the ground floor opening at the foot of the dyke, while the first floor opens directly onto the road. There are still houses of this type.
A bargemen's town, it was therefore logical that it should be home to the museum.
In the church, the Loire Marine Museum
The bargemen carry their anchor in the heart, since it keeps their boats on the bank, or on the shore. They have therefore chosen the fourth pope after Saint Peter, Saint Clement, as their patron saint. He had known the apostles, and Saint Paul speaks of him in one of his epistles. He is always represented with an anchor, since he died a martyr, thrown into the sea with an anchor tied around his neck.
It is therefore in the very church of Saint Clément des levées that, every summer, the Musée de la marine de Loire opens. And it is as unusual as it is moving to see these large models, under the nave, sailing towards the altar. Note that this church, nicknamed "the bargemen's cathedral" was built with their own money.
As you leave, let your gaze wander over the panorama that opens before you, with the royal river (the Loire, of course!), the tower of Trier, the abbey church of Cunault, or Saint Eusebius...
And all year round, the Museum of Old Crafts...
This museum brings together more than 3000 objects from the Loire bargemen, of course, but also from the different trades that were attached to it. These objects are presented in the form of stagings, reconstitution of the life of the Loire navy.
You will also discover an archaeological part, with Loire pottery attesting to human life in these places, the oldest objects dating back to more than 5000 years BC.
Église de Saint-Clément-des-Levées
Place Michel Pruvost
49350 Saint Clément des Levées
Tél. : 06 72 82 74 30
museemarinedeloireenanjou@hotmail.com
https://museeloireetmetiers.blogspot.com/
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
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