• Swiss National Museum, Zurich
• Château de Prangins
  • Château and gardens
    • Château
    • Park
    • The kitchen garden
  • Exhibitions
  • Guided tours and events
  • Visitor information
  • Services
  • Press and documentation
  • Friends and benefactors
• Forum of Swiss History, Schwyz
• Schloss Wildegg
• Zunfthaus zur Meisen, Zurich
• Museum Bärengasse, Zurich
• Swiss Customs Museum, Cantine di Gandria
• Museum of Music Automatons, Seewen

Château

The château was built in the French style of the 1730s around a large courtyard, and has a rich and varied history.

In the century of enlightenment barons lived here. For a while, it was home to Voltaire and Joseph Bonaparte. Later, this seat of baronial power became a place of education and learning: it was turned into a boarding school.

In 1975 the cantons of Vaud and Geneva donated Château de Prangins to the Confederation, thereby realizing a long-held dream of establishing a location for the Swiss National Museum in western Switzerland. The restoration of the complex was a great success. The château – a living reminder of centuries past – became a museum in magnificent surroundings.

Since 1998, Château de Prangins has been the home of the Swiss National Museum in western Switzerland, hosting exhibitions and events devoted to the nation's recent history.

Discover History: Switzerland between 1730 and 1920 is the topic of the permanent exhibition. In Prangins, the visitor encounters a modern, democratic and industrialised Switzerland.

More information