Cantonal Museum of Zoology, Musée cantonal de zoologie, Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland I think it’s only fair to state at the outset that I don’t really like looking at stuffed animals. Or bits that have been pickled in jars. Or bones. It just makes me feel quite nauseous. But I know that lots of people find it interesting, and some people,…
Cantonal Museum of Money, Musée monétaire cantonal, Lausanne, Switzerland Now I know that looking at defunct coins that have no current purchasing power is not interesting to everyone, but I am a fan. The amount you can learn from coinage is amazing, quite apart from the fact that many coins from the Greek world are extremely beautiful. The Cantonal Museum of…
Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland In the centre of Lausanne, off the busy shopping streets, is an impressive turn-of-the-20th century building that looks like it might house some sort of local government offices. While it does serve a municipal purpose, it is in fact a sort of museum complex, housing cantonal collections of varying interest but considerable scope. The building…
Cantonal Museum of Geology, Musée cantonal de géologie, Lausanne, Switzerland The museums within the Palais Rumine are very odd. You never quite know what you’re going to get. Founded in 1818, the Geology Museum joined the Rumine Palace when it was inaugurated at the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally set up as a result of Tsar Alexander…
Cantonal Museum of Archaeology and History, Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire (MCAH), Lausanne, Switzerland The centrally located Palais de Rumine, a great big building on the Place de la Riponne, is home to five local museums. On the first floor is the little Cantonal Archaeology & History Museum. It looks at the archaeology of the Lake Geneva region from 15,000 BC onwards,…