Musée de Cluny (Musée National du Moyen Âge)
PAR-32 • museums1st Century AD (Baths) - 1485 (Hôtel) - 1843 (Museum)

Musée de Cluny (Musée National du Moyen Âge)

Gallo-Roman thermal baths and medieval abbey housing The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries

48.850800°N, 2.344200°E•city Axis
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Documented Historiographical History

Located in the Latin Quarter, combining the 1st–3rd century AD Gallo-Roman Thermes de Cluny (public baths) and the 15th-century Flamboyant Gothic Hôtel des Abbés de Cluny. Museum founded in 1843.

Architectural & Symbolic Reading

The subterranean archaeological womb where ancient Roman Lutetia meets medieval monastic chivalry and the esoteric allegory of the senses.

Historical Legends & Mysteries

The famous 15th-century tapestries of 'The Lady and the Unicorn' were long believed to encode secret alchemical instructions for spiritual sublimation.

Insider Curiosities & Secret Facts
•The centerpiece of the museum is the six-part Flemish tapestry series 'The Lady and the Unicorn' (La Dame à la licorne), depicting the five senses and the mysterious sixth: 'À mon seul désir'.
•The Frigidarium (cold room) of the Roman baths features a monumental 14-meter-high stone groin vault preserved intact for nearly 2,000 years.
•The museum displays the original 13th-century decapitated stone heads of the Kings of Judah from the facade of Notre-Dame, rediscovered during construction in 1977.
Related Tags:#Cluny#Lady and Unicorn#Roman Baths#Middle Ages#Latin Quarter

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