Château Vodou

Château Vodou is a private, association-run museum devoted to West African Vodun, set in a former water tower from 1878, about ten minutes' walk from Strasbourg station. It shows more than 1,200 objects gathered by Marc and Marie-Luce Arbogast. A surprising museum, far from clichés, for discovering an often misunderstood religion.

A water tower turned museum

The museum occupies a historic water tower built in 1878, when Strasbourg was German. It supplied the steam locomotives of the nearby station depot. The outline of this tower on Rue de Koenigshoffen is already intriguing from outside. Inside, the floors of the former reservoir have been fitted out for the collections, in subdued lighting that sets off the objects.

Vodun without the clichés

The museum presents Vodun as a religion born in what are now Benin, Togo, Ghana and Nigeria. Far from the pin-stuck dolls of the movies, you discover a system of beliefs, deities and practices of protection or healing. The objects, often striking, are loaded with materials and symbols: the visit helps you read them and understand their role in community life.

A collectors' passion

The collection gathers more than 1,200 Vodun objects from West Africa, assembled by collectors Marc and Marie-Luce Arbogast. The place runs as a private, association-based museum, independent of the City of Strasbourg's museums, which gives it a more personal tone. The museum also offers a virtual reality experience, charged separately (8 euros per headset according to its website).

An afternoon visit

According to its website, the museum is open every day from 2 pm to 6 pm, public holidays included, except 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January; groups can book over wider hours. Allow just under an hour. The station area pairs well with Petite France and MAMCS, about a quarter of an hour's walk away, for an afternoon of museums with very different moods.