21th edition of this not-to-be-missed cultural event.

If France is now the beating heart of the European Museum Night, it is worth remembering that it was in Germany that the first event of the same kind took place. In 1997, in Berlin, on the aptly named Museum Island, the Lange Nacht der Musen took place. The response and success of this event was such that the French Ministry of Culture wanted to replicate the event in 1999 under the name "Printemps des musées". French museums were invited to open their doors to the public free of charge on a spring Sunday.

Again, the event was a success and the public was very enthusiastic, and in 2001, no less than 39 countries hosted the Printemps des musées. With the support of the Council of Europe, the event took on a European dimension that it was never to leave. It was finally in 2005 that France transformed this cultural event into a Museum Night to attract new audiences to these places of art and knowledge. Given the originality of the approach, its artistic rigour and the popular enthusiasm it generated, many countries on the continent followed France's lead.

So, is the European Museum Night only a European phenomenon? That would be too short! If the event takes place in mid-May, it is not by chance but because the International Day of Museums organised by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) takes place (almost) at the same time.

On the programme:
- Conference on the creation of stained glass windows by Coline Fabre: after graduating from the École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers d'Art in 1980, Coline Fabre worked in a number of stained glass workshops, and for ten years was technical assistant to Jeannette Weiss-Grüber, an artist specialising in the creation of contemporary stained glass windows based on old ones. To date, Coline Fabre has created stained glass windows for around thirty buildings, mainly Romanesque, across France.

Organised by the Culture and Heritage Department.