Situated in Roche, near Villeneuve and Lake Geneva, the Swiss Organ Museum is a unique place dedicated to music and this ancient instrument. Open in the summer, on weekends or on request, the museum also has temporary art exhibitions.
The Swiss Organ Museum owes its existence to the twofold protection of important items of the country’s musical and architectural heritage. The Grange-Relais, a historical monument dating from the 15th century, has been restored to how it would have looked in the 18th century, with its magnificent joinery in particular. It is now the last remaining vestige of the Relais de Roche, erected for pilgrims on the Great Saint Bernard Pass by Augustinian canons.
The museum includes a wide range of organs, from the prototype created in 246 B.C. in Alexandria to the grand 2,700-pipe Tschanun concert organ dating from 1934, previously used by Radio Lausanne. There is also a collection of instruments from various eras, including a cardboard pipe organ, a 6-metre high organ case built in 1778, Barbary organs, flute pendulums, harmoniums or an open organ.
The museum also includes various equipment for acoustic experiments.