The Château fort de Sedan has been open to the public since 1995. A visit includes the Historium and a tour exploring the lives of the Princes of Sedan. The fortress covers 35,000 m² and is protected as a historic monument.
For personal travel planning, you may wish to rent a holiday apartment in Sedan.
Culture
The Musée du château-fort tells the history of the Principality of Sedan up to 1642, the year it became part of France. The museum also focuses on significant events and personalities from Sedan up to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It bears the designation “Musée de France”.
Sedan has held the “Ville d’Art et d’Histoire” label since 2000. The Maison du Patrimoine is designed as a Centre d’Interprétation de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine and presents Sedan, its architecture and its cultural heritage through models, games and explanatory videos. Its permanent exhibition explores the development of the town over the centuries, as well as the themes of water, military history, religion and textiles. Admission to the Maison du Patrimoine is free.
History
From the 16th to the end of the 19th century, Sedan was one of Europe’s largest cloth-producing towns. The workshops produced the black, durable cloth known as “le Sedan”. Guided tours trace this textile production history through former factories and the townhouses of manufacturing entrepreneurs in the historic centre.
The more recent past is also part of the town’s history: between 1914 and 1918, Sedan was occupied by the German army and became a military hospital town.
Townscape
The Meuse runs through Sedan and was used in the town for industrial, military and leisure purposes. A guided tour along the river explains its role in natural defence, the supply of food, work and leisure.
Sedan’s Jardin Botanique was designed in 1880 by René Richer in the Art Nouveau style.
Events
The Festival Médiéval de Sedan features medieval camps and markets, music, street performances, knightly tournaments and falconry displays.
