Charles de Gaulle’s birthplace in Lille
Charles de Gaulle’s birthplace
Charles de Gaulle’s birthplace (or the Maison natale de Charles de Gaulle), which is owned by the Fondation Charles de Gaulle and managed by the Nord département since 2014, has been open to the public for 40 years.
The house became a museum in 1983 and was inscribed on the French list of historic monuments in 1990. It was also awarded the “Maison des illustres” ( ‘Homes of the Famous’) certification in 2011.
Charles de Gaulle was born there on November 22nd, 1890. The house belonged to his maternal grand-parents and was the family home during his youth.
The number of visitors to the Nord’s only heritage site dedicated to Charles de Gaulle has been constantly increasing, reaching 20,000 visitors per year on average. Over the years, De Gaulle’s birthplace had aged due to its success with visitors, and its structure required a major renovation.
In 2019, the Fondation du Patrimoine, the Fondation Charles de Gaulle and the Nord département launched a fundraising appeal to renovate de Gaulle’s birthplace.
The Groupe Dassault contributed in 2020 through its “Dassault Histoire & Patrimoine” endowment and was a stakeholder in these major restoration works that included several aspects: renovation of the historical structure, security works, and furniture acquisition and restoration.
These works sought to restore as faithfully as possible the house’s late 19th century appearance. Contemporary visitors will find the house looking much like it did when Charles de Gaulle’s grandparents lived there and the future statesman would visit on holidays.
The house’s restoration makes it the only example of a late 19th century bourgeois home in Lille. It reopened in late November to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle’s birth.
Maison Natale (maisondegaulle.fr)
www.fondation-patrimoine.org
