Palais du Tau closes for renovation

The visit to the Musée des Sacres will function as an overture, a call to deepen our knowledge.

To this end, the tour is conceived as a show: the public will be invited to take part in a coronation ceremony.

Redesigning the tour circuit

The tour will be spread over some 15 rooms, covering some 2,000 m². After a preamble, it will develop the following 9 sequences:

• the choice of Reims Cathedral
• the coronation ceremony
• the cathedral's sacred treasures
• a rite peripheral to the ceremony: the touching of écrouelles
• the coronation of Charles X
• The lapidary deposit
• the history of the cathedral and palace
• the cavalcade: a picturesque aspect of the coronation
• specific features of the coronation in Reims and France

The collections

Since January 2023, a major project has been underway to clean up and restore certain works, and to review deposits and acquisitions.

The collections will be redeployed and the scenography will be renewed to highlight the major ensembles, such as :

• cathedral treasures,
• lapidary fragments from the cathedral,
• collection of plasterwork produced during the cathedral's restoration,
• textiles and silverware from the scare of Charles X,
• objects related to the coronation of sovereigns,
• collection of tapestries and liturgical embroideries,
• graphic arts

Mediation tools, particularly digital ones, will be integrated into the tour itinerary.

Restoration work on the monument includes restoration of the facades, reinforcement and creation of floors, as well as extension of the heating system on the second floor and reinforcement of the electrical network.

Renovation of the facades began in early 2002, and will take around twenty months to complete.

Financing the work

As part of the government's stimulus package for 2021, the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) has received an exceptional €40 million grant to support its heritage and promote craftsmanship and excellence through the restoration of 14 of the hundred or so historic monuments it preserves, restores and opens to the public.

The exceptional grant from the economic stimulus plan is helping to finance the €2.5 million restoration of the facades of the Palais du Tau.

The project also benefits from a €1 million sponsorship from Dassault Histoire & Patrimoine, which is helping to finance the restoration and redesign of the Palais du Tau visitor trail.