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Saint-Just in Blérancourt Saint-Just spent his youth in a variety of French towns; however, the town of Blérancourt is best known as his home. His house still stands and has been recently refurbished and beautifully preserved. Today, Blérancourt's office of tourism is located in the front room of the house; the rest has become a small, free museum devoted to Saint-Just's memory. I visited the house on May 25, 2002. This portion of my site contains the details of my visit, photos, and information on how you can visit too.
Getting There If you are comfortable driving in France, I recommend renting a car in either Paris or Soissons and driving yourself.
Things to Do in Blérancourt Saint-Just's house is easy to find; Blérancourt is small, and there are plenty of signs. The material I received lists the hours as being 9 am until 12 pm (09:00-12:00) Monday-Saturday, and 2 pm until 4 pm (14:00-16:00) Thursday and Friday. However when I went, they opened at 2 pm (14:00) on Saturdays as well. You might want to contact them ahead of time to be sure there will be someone there when you visit. Listed below is contact information. L'Office de Tourisme Telephone/Fax (if calling from North America): 011.33.3.23.39.72.17 There are a few other things to see in Blérancourt while you're there. The Chateau is now the Musée de l'Amitie Franco-Americaine, founded by Anne Morgan in 1929. It is open from 10 am until 12 pm (10:00-12:00) and 2 pm until 5 pm (14:00-17:00) every day except Tuesday. It is more or less directly across town from Saint-Just's house. If you're looking for a place to eat and/or spend the night, try the Hostellerie Le Griffon, located very close to the Chateau and offering a nice view. There are also eleven hotel rooms with full bathrooms, televisions, and telephones, along with two large conference rooms. Hostellerie Le Griffon Telephone: 011.33.3.23.39.23.29 (North America)
Saint-Just's House / Office of Tourism Although the house's street address is on the Rue de la Chouette, the street which it faces has been renamed, appropriately, Rue Saint-Just. The front room houses the office of tourism and a small amount of Saint-Just merchandise you can buy. There is a booklet containing information on the house and its restoration for about €4, as well as some postcards. There were four kinds when I went: David d'Angers' Saint-Just medallion, a drawing of Saint-Just, a drawing of the house, and a photo of the house. You can also pick up a free brochure on the house, as well as brochures on Blérancourt that mention Saint-Just. The other downstairs rooms of the house contain information on Saint-Just presented in poster form, a collection of posters and a few works of art featuring him with photos of famous works not located at the house, books of his works, materials from the Japanese Saint-Just exhibit of 1994, and a few items that belonged to the Saint-Justs, including an iron fireplace backer. The upstairs houses a network of computers and what I think is some sort of library. Admission to the museum is free. Be sure to sign the guestbook (livre d'or) while you're there. Front cover of
the booklet
Photographs My Photographs Photographs by Lukas Photographs by Andrea Photographs by Kai and Andrea Other Photographs
Links Official
Blérancourt Website |
