Rumine Palace

A veritable melting pot, the architecture of the Palais de Rumine is fascinating. Built between 1891 and 1906 thanks to a bequest from a wealthy Russian heir, Gabriel de Rumine, the palace is a little jewel representing the high nobility.

Although it is essentially neo-Florentine in appearance, the palace made use of a number of techniques that were uncommon in its day, such as its concrete roof and slabs and its large glass windows. Its entrance with its maze-like staircase sets the tone. French architect Gaspard André drew inspiration for the atrium from the staircase designed by Michelangelo for the Laurentian Library in Florence.

Inaugurated in 1902, the palace houses several museums, a library and a study centre. The Palais de Rumine organises conferences, workshops and exhibitions throughout the year. It's the perfect place to liven up the lives of Lausanne residents and holidaymakers alike!

In more detail, it houses the cantonal museums of archaeology and history, geology and zoology, as well as the cantonal and university library.

The Museum of Archaeology and History

This museum is a great way to combine knowledge and entertainment. On display here are objects from archaeological digs of all periods. It has a sizeable collection, with over 250,000 inventory numbers representing many fragments of the past. However, only a tiny proportion of these objects are on display in the permanent exhibition halls. Several rooms showcase the prehistoric period, human occupation of the canton of Vaud, the Iron Age, finery from Saint-Sulpice and a selection of objects from Mormont.

The coins and medals collection

This way to money! This collection is devoted to coins and medals, and reveals the history of the economy in an entertaining way. The showcases reveal the techniques used to create the coins, and the function of the coins, with a beautiful scenography. The museum carefully preserves its regional and national coins, as well as coins from all over the world.

You can travel back in time to ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary times, through banknotes, securities and shares... all the means of payment that have marked history are on display.

The cantonal geology museum in Lausanne

Minerals from the four corners of the earth and the universe (some meteorites) are magnificently displayed in this museum. It takes you closer to the origins of the Universe and its mysteries. A veritable treasure chest is unveiled before the viewers, including the largest gold nugget known as The Welcome Nugget. Thousands of minerals sparkle and shine. Indescribable beauty!

The tour continues in another room, where you can see how small we really are by contemplating the skeleton of a 16,000-year-old mammoth, one of the most complete ever found in Europe, or a prehistoric hippopotamus that lived in Sicily 1.8 million years ago. Let yourself be carried away in this spiral of geological time.

The permanent exhibitions highlight crystals and fossils.

The Cantonal Museum of Zoology in Lausanne

Transferred to the Palais de Rumine in 1909, its collection has not changed a bit! Visitors discover stuffed animals behind glass display cases. In all, there are more than 25,000 specimens. The museum opens its doors to explore and discover the animal world of today and yesteryear. A charming plunge into the past. The highlight of the show is the world's largest taxidermised white shark at 5.89 metres!

The museum also has an anatomy room specialising in specimens in jars and skeletons, as well as a large room of curiosities. In 2019, a room will be devoted solely to extinct animals, with workshops and modules on extinctions, reintroduction programmes, the role of man... Temporary exhibitions allow visitors to take a closer look at a particular species.

Finally, the museum can be used to organise children's birthday parties, with films, treasure hunts and interactive games on the programme.