Not gigantic, but with an astonishing diversity of entrances, the Musée du Léman, facing the port of Nyon, also seduces with the quality of its scenography. There is, among other things, the interior reproduced of the front of the mesoscaphe, a film which relates the tsunami of the year 563 and its wave reaching 13 meters in Lausanne. Without forgetting the legend of the Geneva “loch”: it has lasted for centuries, this lake monster had nothing to envy of Nessie, its Scottish cousin.
The public was not mistaken. “Last year,” underlines Lionel Gauthier, the curator, a geographer by training, “we recorded a peak of 25,400 visitors. The enthusiasm is constantly increasing.”
The Léman Museum also offers literary evenings, like this evening’s dedicated to the legends of the lake. A performance for all audiences where live drawings, guitar and singing accompany the reading of extracts from “Les Mystères du Léman” with Blaise Hofmann, Adrienne Barman and Stéphane Blok. As for temporary exhibitions, the current one, on display until August 31, reveals the diversity of maps created over the centuries. “There are thousands of them,” adds the curator. We chose around a hundred. Each one tells its own story and represents a page in the life of the lake and its residents. This is not a card show. It’s a portrait of Lake Geneva.”
-The icing on the cake is that the museum acquired and renovated a motorboat dating from 1905 that can accommodate around ten people. The goal: to offer varied educational walks, devoted, for example, to the large houses visible from the sea, to flora and fauna or geology. The “Gilliatt”, the name of a Victor Hugo character, will be anchored at the marina and put into service from the beginning of summer until mid-September.
“You can imagine that temporary exhibitions,” says Lionel Gauthier, “the restoration of a boat and so many other highlights offered by the Léman Museum cannot be made profitable by the sale of entry tickets alone. In this context, the support of Loterie Romande is vital for the sustainability of our activities. We are very, very grateful to him!”
