EXPOSITION - ET LA LUMIÈRE FUT

The adventure of public lighting in France and in Metz. Fear of the dark and of what it conceals goes back to the origins of mankind, and fire has been an invaluable ally in combating it since prehistoric times. In today's society, as in previous ones, darkness and night are synonymous with insecurity. Combating the grip of the night and protecting against nocturnal threats have been the main reasons for the development of lighting systems throughout history. Street lighting, as a way for authorities to make public spaces safer and travel easier, appeared in European capitals as early as the mid-17th century. The first permanent street lighting was installed in Paris, France, in 1667. Then, in 1967, an edict issued by Louis XIV ordered the Kingdom?s thirty main cities, including Metz, to imitate the Parisian model by installing lanterns in their streets at regular intervals. The installation of street lighting required organization, new infrastructure and considerable expense on the part of the municipality. From the 18th century onwards, this progress in public lighting led to a shift in urban life, in parallel with technical innovations in oil, gas and then electric lighting. Through a selection of archival documents, plans, engravings, photographs... most of which are held by the Metz Municipal Archives, this exhibition offers a variety of eclectic and entertaining forays into the rich history of public lighting. Discover a few chronological milestones, lighting techniques, the job of lamplighter and what goes on behind the scenes (with the transcript of the trial of a Metz man tried for stealing candles in 1783), and the difficult "battle of light" as told by the press and archive documents, bearing witness to advances in equipment and the reactions of citizens. Finally, discover the complexity of today's public lighting challenges, in a section produced in partnership with the Metz Eurometropole's Public Lighting and Networks Department.