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Dieppe’s Castle Museum
The Château Musée
overlooking Dieppe alternately
housed the high and low of society before being turned into a museum
just over a century ago.
First constructed in
the 15th century, it was home to the governors
of Dieppe. French kings François I, Henri IV and Louis XIV
all were
hosted here, but the Revolution put an end to that high living. In
the
following century-plus, the château did service as a military
barracks and prison.
In 1906 the city
bought the castle and turned it
into a museum. As Dieppe had been for many years the capital of ivory
import-export trade,
as well as the craft of sculpting it, much of the museum is devoted to
its collection of fine examples of carved ivory. The intricacy of this
work is quite
impressive, to put it blandly. The museum also displays a respectable
array of prints and paintings.
The château’s
location on the cliff offers commanding views of
the city and sea, and is easily reached by car or by walking up from
town. The street which runs along the quay — Quai Henri IV
— turns into Grande Rue, which turns into Rue de la Barre.
From there you turn right and walk up Rue de Chastes which leads
directly to
the château.
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Castle
Museum
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Dieppe's Castle Museum houses a fine collection of carved ivory.