Palais de Rumine & Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts

About this place

You feel as if you are in another time when you stroll through the majestic palace, pause by the water basin in the inner courtyard, climb the massive stone stairs and wander through the splendid galleries. Palais de Rumine is a journey through time - and on architectural grounds alone it is worth a visit: built in the Florentine Renaissance style, the palace dominates Place de la Riponne on the western edge of the old town with its sheer size. Until 1970, it served as the main building of the University of Lausanne; today it houses five museums, including the renowned Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts. The art museum holds the largest collection of the Vaud artist Félix Vallotton. The palace is named after Gabriel Rumine, a civil engineer of Russian origin born in Lausanne. He died in 1871 at just 30 years old and left the city 1.5 million francs. The money came in handy, as they wanted to expand the Lausanne Academy into a full university with a respectable main seat. Opened in 1906, the building became the scene of history 17 years later: the Treaty of Lausanne was signed here, which set out, among other things, the current borders of Turkey and Greece.