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The Museum of Music Automatons

Between 1770 and 1910, Switzerland played a leading role in mechanical music. In Geneva, Sainte-Croix and the surrounding Jura region, especially, a highly specialised industry grew up, devoted to the production of musical machines.

Music boxes from the Jura in Switzerland and musical jewellery and snuff boxes from Geneva are among the finest products of this era. The Museum of Music Automatons in Seewen, Solothurn, houses one of the largest and most famous collections of its kind, featuring Swiss music boxes, disc music boxes, clocks, watches and jewellery, as well as other music automatons.

Located some 15 km south of Basel, this institution is a Swiss federal museum. It is one of the principal tourist attractions and cultural highlights of north-western Switzerland and the “Schwarzbubenland” region. The modern museum building is designed to fit in with the surrounding countryside, its colour and materials reflecting the rough yellow of the Jurassic limestone.