Exhibition in Nyon: Lake Geneva seen upside down

For its new temporary exhibition, inaugurated Thursday in Nyon, the Lake Geneva Museum highlights around a hundred maps dedicated to the largest lake in Europe. For the designers, it is not so much about talking about geography as being interested in how this body of water was viewed at different times.

“A map is a more or less faithful reflection of the space it represents. But it is also a reflection of its time, of its cartographer, of the latter’s concerns and intentions. A map can help you find your way or plan a route, but also claim a territory, transmit scientific knowledge or attract tourists,” write the organizers in the press kit.

Lake Vevey, Evian or Morges?

Entitled “This is not a map”, the exhibition paints a “protean portrait of Lake Geneva” based on these documents. Visitors will discover the Puisinger Table, representing the road network of the Roman Empire at the time of Augustus and which constitutes the oldest map on which Lake Geneva, identified as “Lake Lausanne”, appears.

The public will also have the opportunity to be surprised by a representation of Lake Geneva “in reverse”, a legacy of a medieval convention according to which a map had to be oriented towards Jerusalem. The various documents on display will also show that the name of the lake has changed several times, since according to the maps, there is mention of Lake Geneva, Thonon, Vevey, Morges, Évian, or even Lake Geneva.

To cover the theme more widely and reach a wider audience, various events will take place until the exhibition closes on August 31, 2025. On the menu: guided tours, drawing workshops, orienteering, hiking and even a booklet visit intended for the youngest.

The exhibition will also lead to the publication of the “Grand Atlas of Lake Geneva”. More than a summary of geography, the work will serve as a “history book that goes back through the centuries from map to map,” write the organizers.

ATS

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