French Foreign Legion Museum, Military museum in Aubagne, France.
The museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts including medals, uniforms, weapons, and historical documents spanning nearly two centuries of Foreign Legion operations across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
The museum descends from the Hall of Honour of the 1st Foreign Regiment, created in 1892 at Sidi bel-Abbès in Algeria. It took its current name on 11 November 1935. The collections were moved to France from 1962, and the first stone of the Aubagne building was laid in 1964 under Minister of the Armies Pierre Messmer; it opened on 30 April 1966. A 1,000 m² extension was inaugurated on 30 April 2013, and the museum reopened to the public on 7 May 2014.
The museum preserves the legendary wooden hand of Captain Jean Danjou from the Battle of Camarón in 1863, which serves as a symbol of Legion bravery and sacrifice during annual commemorations.
The museum stands at Camp de la Demande, and its rear opens onto the 1st Foreign Regiment's parade ground, where the Legion war memorial by sculptor Pourquet faces visitors. The courtyard holds cannons brought back from campaigns and tombstones from distant postings. The documentation centre, with over 4,500 books and 10,000 iconographic items, is consultable only with authorisation from the general commanding the Legion.
The "Louvre du Légionnaire" nickname belongs to the Aubagne building, inaugurated on 30 April 2013 after a 1,000 m² wing doubled its surface. The separate Legionnaire Uniform Museum at Puyloubier, grown from a private collection, holds some 18,000 pieces shown on about 150 mannequins.
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