The Museum of the Battle of Ligny

RELIVE THE LAST VICTORY NAPOLEON'S A LIGNY
MUSEE DE LA BATAILLE DE LIGNY,
16 JUIN 1815

THE CENTRE GENERAL GERARD
ASBL Syndicat d'Initiative et de Tourisme de Ligny
Rue du Pont Piraux, 23 Tél.: 071.81 83 13 Si-ligny.be
5140 Ligny sidelignycgg@skynet.be

The Centre Général Gérard.

The origins of the building that accomodates since 1991 the Centre General Gérard at Ligny date back the end of the XVIIIth century. This ancient farm known under the name of “cense Frenet”, by the name of its last farmer, has undergone many transformations as time went by, until its buy-out by the tourist office of Ligny in 1976. Completely in ruins at that time, a further fifteen years will be needed, in order for that ancient farm, whose bases have witnessed fierce fights on June 16, 1815, to become the “Centre General Gérard”

Today the Centre General Gérard shelters the « Museum of June 16, 1815 » totally devoted to the last victory of Napoleon against the Prussians of Blücher, but also to the battle of the “Quatre-Bras” that took place on the same day, in the same space of time, just about fifteen kilometers more to the West. These two battles being indissociable, it is quite natural that they are being evoked together in a museum, entirely reorganized by the joined action of the Tourist Office of Ligny, owner of the premises, and the Belgian Napoleonic Association, society of historical research founded in 1979.

Besides the museum, the Centre General Gérard also shelters a restaurant, famous for the quality of its cuisine, the « Coupe-Chou », as well as a multipurpose room, which can accommodate banquets, as well as conferences or temporary exhibitions.

A battle – A museum.

As its restructuration progressed, the napoleonic Museum of Ligny has become « The » museum of the last victory of Napoleon, totally devoted to the events that took place on Friday, June 16, 1815 in and in the vicinity of this village of the Namur area.

Seven rooms welcome the visitor with a new museology which will satisfy the specialist, as well as the beginner, or the onlooker, or also the schools.

The five rooms on the ground-floor prepare those who walk through the entrance for the shock of June 16, 1815.

The first room is, from the start of the 2012 touristic season, devoted to the day of June 15, 1815 and to the setting up of the troops of the various belligerents in the morning of June 16th. A plan of 2 m by 1,80 m enables the visitor, on one end, to discover the totality of the theatres of operations of June 16th, but also at the same time to see what were the positions of the four armies around 03.00 PM, as well at Ligny as at the Quatre-Bras. The troops as a whole are presented at the level of the battalion.

The second room allows to get accustomed with the equipment of the French soldier and to discover, thanks to new graphics, the complete organization chart of the Army of the North.

The third room is devoted to the Army of the Lower Rhine commanded by Blücher. It is this observation army, quartered in the South-Eastern part of Belgium, that Napoleon will decide to attack in first place.

The fourth room is assigned to the other observation army, the one commanded by Wellington, the Anglo-Dutch army, quartered in the North-Western part of the country.

The fifth room of the ground-floor, the smallest one, will enable the visitor to discover Ligny and its area in 1815 and to get accustomed with the battle-field, which will see Napoleon victorious for the last time.

When leaving this room, you go back to the hall where you can admire a showcase devoted to the light infantry of the Guard of Ligny before using stairs which let you penetrate straight into the events of June 16, 1815. From the arrival of Napoleon at Fleurus and of Blücher at Brye, until the outcome of the battle, the tragic episodes of Friday, June 16, 1815 at Lingy, Saint-Amand and Tongrinne are available in ten showcases where objects, documents, maps, engravings, witnesses of the past, figurines and models help to take back the visitor into the hell of the villages assaulted and defended tooth and nail during more than six hours by more than 160.000 men.

Still stunned by the fury of the fights in the sector of Ligny, you head for the second room of the floor where the “other” battle of June 16, 1815 is waiting for you : the battle of the “Quatre-Bras”. Four showcases are assigned to the fights waged by Marshall Ney against the troops of Wellington. One showcase displays excavation pieces, witnesses of the fights of that bloody Friday.

The memory of the epic transmitted by the Ancient Brothers in Arms of the Great Army, arrived to us and are, since 1965, evoked each first Sunday of June during the Napoleonic Days of Ligny. One showcase of the museum is devoted to those elders of the Great Army.

For the 2012 season, a thematic exhibition on the Societies of Brothers in Arms is presented as a complement to the museum. It is to be noted that most of the showcases have been revised at the level of the presentation and favourably completed by various contributions in documents and in pieces.

All the rooms of this exceptional museum are living, and subjected to evolution in time, so as not to present invariably the same thing. The visitor who has seen the museum in 2010 or in 2011, will discover a totally different universe this year. It will be the same each year, according to the evolution of the collections and of the museologic techniques.

The Museum of the Last Victory of Napoleon on June 16, 1815 is today a place of memory, an absolute must for all fans of history because in these premises, it is totally out of the question to glorify a person but it is important to pay tribute to those who have fallen at Ligny, at Saint-Amand, at Tongrinne and at the Quatre-Bras, on Friday June 16, 1815.

To study the past in order to better prepare the future, this is the motto respected at the Centre General Gérard. We are only a link. Our duty is to do all what we can so that the memory of these men can be transmitted to the coming generations.

Musée de la Bataille de Ligny 16 juin 1815
Practical information :
The museum welcomes you from April 1st till October 30th,
Monday,thursdays and tridays from 01.00PM till 05.00PM
Saturdays and sundays from 02.00PM till 05.00PM
Prices :
Adultes : 4 €
Groupes de plus de 20 personnes : 3 €/personne
Visites guidées sur rendez-vous (1h30) : 5 €/personne

On reservations :
Musée + champ de bataille + coffee/lunch (10€/pers)
Musée + champ de bataille + country meal (15€/pers) (20€, si repas complet)
Combinés à 20 € de 15 à 50 personnes
Musée de Ligny + repas + one of three activities proposed by the IS
Napoleonic Days : week-end of the 1st Sunday of June.
Bivouac – Uniformologic reconstitution – Parade of the last victory.

Contacts :
Museum of Ligny :
071/81.83.13.
sidelignycgg@skynet.be
www.si-ligny.be
Belgian Napoleonic Association :
071/88.86.59.
infos@abnapoleon.be

Accès : Motorway E 42 (Mons-Namur-Liège) - Road N 29 (direction Fleurus-Gembloux) -
At the roundabout, road N 98 (direction Ligny).