Palais de Rumine

This lavish building, situated in the equally beautiful city of Lausanne, owes its construction and namesake to Gabriel de Rumine, the son of Russian nobility. Upon his death bed Gabriel bequeathed to the city of Lausanne 1.5 million Swiss Francs to erect a building for the use and enjoyment of the public.

Construction of the Palais de Rumine didn’t take place until 1892, and owed its design to the Lyonnais architect Gaspard André. The building was inaugurated on November 3rd, 1902, although construction still continued up until 1904. During those days, it housed the library of the University of Lausanne, as well as scientific and artistic collections belonging to the Canton of Vaud.

During the 1980s, however, the university moved to its current location by Lake Geneva due to lack of space, and the Palais de Rumine was restructured. Today the Palais de Rumine hosts one of the four sites of the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne, and also contains not one, but five different museums as well.

There is the Cantonal Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Archaeology and History, the Numismatic Museum, the Geological Museum, and the Zoological Museum. Of particular note, the Zoological Museum is home to the largest stuffed great white shark in the world, sizing in at almost 6m.