The Hermitage Foundation

Flashback to 1984. Charles-Juste Bugnion, a Lausanne banker, and his wife Jeanne Marie Chatelanat owned the Hermitage property. This mansion, which overlooks the entire town, was built between 1851 and 1853 by the architect Louis Wenger. It is characterised by its openness to the outside world thanks to its bay windows and its large, beautiful windows that let the light in.

The park surrounding the house is home to rare species of trees from all over the world, and the elegant balconies and side loggias blend harmoniously with the stone and cast iron. The manor house was designed as a belvedere overlooking nature and the city. An unusual building for its time.

In the 1970s, the Bugnion family bequeathed the house and all its grounds to the City of Lausanne. To showcase this beautiful residence, the city decided to transform it into a cultural centre. Since 1984, the Fondation de l'Hermitage has had an international reputation, offering both temporary exhibitions and a permanent collection.

Today, the Fondation de L'Hermitage celebrates its 37th anniversary in 2023 and represents over 175 years of history. Throughout the year, the museum presents two or three temporary exhibitions devoted to modern art, Impressionism and Expressionism.

The museum has collected almost 800 works, mainly through donations and bequests. Outside museums and private collectors have entrusted the foundation with important collections. Donations include Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters such as Alfred Sisly, Edgar Degas, George Braque and Guillaumin, and a selection of twentieth-century Swiss artists from the Vaud region - Chavanne, Valltton and Bosshard.

As you enter the museum, one room has been left as it was when it was occupied by the Bugnion family, with original furniture and family portraits to remind you of its origins. At the far end of this room, the entrance to the Hermitage Foundation Museum is in a reception room with very modern bay windows, linked to the manor house and the museum bookshop offering a wide selection of art books, postcards and reproductions.

A collection of Chinese porcelain dating from the 12th to the 19th century is on display in the passageway of the underground gallery linking the museum to the Hermitage Farm, where educational workshops, conferences, seminars and music concerts are held. This collection of porcelain exists thanks to the collector Marie Vergottis (1914 - 1999). It includes around 400 pieces of ceramics. The museum offers art and gastronomy evenings with a meal and guided tours, and art and brunch Sundays, although the lectures are in French.

The park surrounding the manor house is open to the public for walks among its various trees. The lawn on the esplanade between the house and the view of the lake attracts sun loungers on pleasant days. The former orangery of the manor house, built in 1857, houses a café-restaurant with an outdoor terrace.