The Heritage Building house

Since 2019, the Pays d'art et d'histoire du Beaujolais has been run by the Communauté d'agglomération Villefranche Beaujolais Saône, the Ville de Villefranche-sur-Saône and the Communauté de communes Beaujolais Pierres Dorées. The Pays d'art et d'histoire, which covers 50 communes, is based in the former Maison du patrimoine, founded in 1999 next to the collegiate church of Notre-Dame-des-Marais in Villefranche-sur-Saône. Building on the legacy of the municipal department of the same name, which collected a wealth of objects, documents and photographs from dozens of donors, the Pays d'art et d'histoire offers guided tours, workshops, temporary travelling exhibitions and publications. It is responsible for the content of Destination Beaujolais guided tours in all 50 communes. With the help of the Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles, the department responsible for the label is implementing three priority themes:
Preserving the landscape and quality of life to the north-west of the Lyon metropolitan area
A heritage of buildings and furnishings to be revealed

Materials, know-how, innovations and intangible heritage to be developed
From 2020, a project to evaluate and rationalise the collections held by the department will be undertaken in conjunction with the Municipal Archives.The collections linked to the themes of the Pays d'art et d'histoire will remain at the Maison and be promoted there, while the other collections will be transferred.In 2022, the Ecobeauval association and its founder signed a partnership agreement with the town of Villefranche-sur-Saône, enriching the collections of the Maison with objects and documents relating to the contemporary history of Beaujolais.This collaboration, agreed with the two intercommunal partners of the label, makes memory an essential issue in education and citizenship. It is at the heart of a project that is attentive to the links between generations. The Maison du Patrimoine will become the Maison des Mémoires en Beaujolais.
Work began in 2023 to refurbish the building, creating a continuous pathway from the ground floor to the second floor. In December 2024, a permanent exhibition will be added to the Conscripts Museum, which will remain in its current location.