The Château-Musée de Bélesta is a museum of recent prehistory in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, with collections from the archaeological site of the cave of Bélesta
Within this castle there is one of the three Charles Rennie Mackintosh interpretation centers in Rousillon
This space traces Mackintosh’s career first as an architect / designer in Scotland, then as a pioneer of Modernism in Europe and finally, as a painter in Roussillon in a style evolving towards surrealism. On the Mackintosh Way, about thirty reproductions are positioned in-situ facing the current landscapes. They invite you to discover this country that he loved so much. There are also examples of furniture created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The medieval castle of the village presents a different temporary exhibition each year and in 2022 the superb castle museum of Belesta is organizing the temporary exhibition from April to December :
Megaliths from here : Megaliths from elsewhere.
For more than 6000 years and all over the world, many human societies have been building monumental stone architecture to deposit their dead or venerate the living. The varied forms of the monuments are the visible traces left by communities that flourished from one valley to another, even from one continent to another at different periods. For these communities, megalithic architecture is the result of a cultural choice. Archaeologists are struggling to understand why these societies invested so much energy and capital in ostentatious architecture. Were these dolmens and menhirs intended to ward off the fear of death, to honor the dead or to impress the living?This exhibition presents the work carried out by the Laboratory of Prehistoric Archeology and Anthropology of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) in different geographical areas – the Geneva basin, Brittany in France and Akkar in northern Lebanon – three areas of interest to understand megalithism in the world.
Exhibition curators: Florian Cousseau; Tara SteimerScientific committee: Marie Besse; Martine PiguetScenography: Thomas Thibout
SCHEDULE
From June 15 to September 14The museum is open every day from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.From September 15 to June 14The museum is open from 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. except Tuesdays and Saturdays.
To know everything about the museum and the historical heritage of Bélesta, click on the link below which takes you to the museum’s website: