In the heart of the old city is the Maison Tavel, the museum of Genevan urban history and domestic life. It's in Geneva's oldest house, which has four floors. It contained everything from doors to locks and keys to tableware, as well as several maps and models of the town.
This display (above and below) was fantastic. It was a scaled model of the landscape of Geneva and its environs, with a screen backdrop that had supporting documentary/photographic visuals for certain parts of the story. Available in English, French, and German, when I pressed a button a 10-minute show began about the history of Geneva, from prehistory to the present. Everything from floods and lake level changes to road development and settlement patterns was projected onto the landscape model in time with the narration.
I was so impressed with all the calculations that must have gone into fitting everything to the model's scale: dozens of maps of Geneva, created over the last several hundred years, were projected to fit onto the landscape. I'd never seen anything quite like this before at a museum, and I thought it was great.
In the attic, there's the massive Magnin Relief Model, depicting the town in 1850 before its fortifications were destroyed.
Going down the stairs between floors 3 and 2- surprise! You're outside:
Hanna, I am enjoying your blogs so much. I have gotten shivers from some of the photography, especially the interiors of beautiful churches. They resonate especially, because they trigger memories of a wonderful church I visited in Lausanne in 1977 - a long time ago, but still very vivid for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experiences with us.
~Cheryl S.
Another interesting visit. Very innovative! xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteWow, what an interesting place ! So neat that it's in the oldest house in Geneva. I wonder what it used to be like in winter when people (presumably ?) lived here and had to go outside when they wanted to get from floor 2 to 3 ?!
ReplyDeleteThat digitized display onto the landscape model is just ingenius ! I wonder whether any other museums have copied this idea ? Oh and I do love that GORGEOUS wooden door on display in the middle of the room (your 2nd-to-last photo). I'm glad to see that was preserved from wherever it used to originally be !
Thanks for sharing Hanna !
XOX
Love, Mom
No wonder they wore their keys on a belt - they are huge! I would have loved to see that display - sounds like it was geology, politics and culture all rolled into one!
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