The Musée Bricard, or Musée de la Serrure, was once one of Paris's tiny hidden gems. The curious collection features locks and keys dating form Roman times up to the present day, including one... »

Museums and Collections, Unique Collections | Edited by Josh and CPilgrim

Atop a hill in the picturesque town of Saint-Bonnet-le-Château stands the Collegiate Church of Saint-Bonnet, a beautiful medieval church believed to have been built in the year 1400. The church... »

Mummies, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by JC

The undeniably beautiful 130-year-old body of Bernadette Soubirous is displayed in a purpose-built crystal coffin, housed in a chapel at the abbey where she served as a nun. Her uncannily lifelike... »

Relics and Reliquaries | Edited by Annetta and wythe

All that was left of the most famous of all automatons were a pair of heat-warped wings found among the smoking ruins of a museum in Krakow, Poland in 1889. Built in 1739 by Grenoble artist... »

Amazing Automata | Edited by Annetta

Created at the end of 1800s, this beautiful museum has a rich collection of both minerals and animals (skeletons and taxidermy) and a nice vivarium. The collection of bird taxidermy is especially... »

Fascinating Fauna, Natural History | Edited by Quentin and ack sed

Many of France's greatest monuments are compactly spread across 12 acres in a western suburb of Paris. A meandering road leads visitors through this France Miniature, an outdoor park mirroring... »

Small Worlds and Model Towns, Amazing Automata | Edited by re_nakaba

In 1916, this nine-month battle of Verdun claimed over 300,000 lives, and left about 300,000 more wounded. (By comparison, the total current death toll for American soldiers of both the Iraq and... »

Ossuaries | Edited by stanestane

Between courtyards and through buildings, secret alleyways and staircases once provided safe and efficient passage for silk workers to get their wares to and from market unmarred. Now partially... »

Architectural Oddities | Edited by Annetta

Dedicated to "moulage" -- wax models of body parts afflicted with disease -- this warehouse of a museum has two spectacular floors of nothing but wax models of diseased flesh. Opened in 1867, the... »

Medical Museums | Edited by Dylan, Henry and 2 others

The astronomical clock of the cathedral of Saint-Jean, located in the center of the old French watchmaking capital of Besançon, is one of the most complicated horological devices in the world.... »

Inspired Inventions, Astounding Timepieces, Retro-Tech | Edited by Josh and mrobscurity