Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland

On his death, Gabriel de Rumine, son of Russian nobility, left the city of Lausanne 1.5 million Swiss Francs to erect a building for the use of the public. Building began in 1892 according to the design of the Lyonnais architect Gaspard André. The building was inaugurated on the 3 November 1902, although building work continued until 1904.

On 24 July 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in Palais de Rumine.

It housed facilities such as the library of the University of Lausanne, and scientific and artistic collections belonging to the Canton of Vaud. In the 1980s, the university moved to its current location by Lake Geneva due to lack of space, and the Palais was restructured.

The building currently hosts one of the three sites of the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne. Additionally, it contains several museums like Musée cantonal des beaux-arts (Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts), Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire (Cantonal Museum of Archeology and History) and Musée monétaire cantonal (Cantonal Museum of Money).

References:

Wikipedia

Palaces, manors and town halls in Switzerland

User Reviews

Nir Aviv Shapir (2 years ago)
The building itself actually looks like a palace... The inside as well and each exhibition is better than its predecessor

三根彩美 (3 years ago)
It’s really worth to visit

Tara O'Brien (3 years ago)
A pretty spot in central Lausanne with a museum inside. The museum sometimes has special exhibits so it's good to look up the museum online and see what's on. The museum had an odd layout so make sure to grab a map. It'll come in handy.

Michael Bills (3 years ago)
A very classic European style museum. A great value (it's free!), housed in a beautiful historical building. I didn't necessarily see anything I haven't seen before in other museums, but it was still a good way to pass a few hours in Lausanne.

Naveen Yellambalse (3 years ago)
Amazing museums in a palace setting. They have 4 to 5 different museums here. The entry is free to all! It is typically a 2h visit around all the museums, but can be extended longer if a certain part of the museum is of more interest.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus, is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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