CLOSED (COVID) - This museum dedicated to stained glass, reverse glass painting and all other glass-related arts is housed in a castle. Its collections are like no other in the world.
The 1000-year-old history of stained glass unfolds through the exhibition rooms: archaeological fragments from the 5th century, gems from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Art Nouveau periods through to modern and contemporary creations. While the oldest stained glass remains anonymous, other pieces bear the signature of renowned workshops or artists. One of these is Marc Chagall.
To explain how a stained glass window is created, the master-glassmaker's tools are positioned in situ in the workshop. Demonstrations and introductory courses are held regularly. Designs, mock-ups, cartoons, sketches and other preparatory works also explain the artist's craft.
One aisle is dedicated to reverse glass painting, the technique that uses shimmers and reflections. We travel from antiquity to modern times, and from Europe to Asia, through various schools.
The art of glass is a constantly evolving world. Technical innovations allow for unique artistic approaches. Fusing, thermoforming, acid work, bonding, sanding, and printing on glass all broaden the experimental field. The collection is constantly enriched with recent works.
The temporary exhibitions allow both precious historic stained glass and works by contemporary artists to be admired. The Stained Glass Museum has a scientific partner, the neighbouring Stained Glass Centre (Vitrocentre). The walls of the 13th century castle stand alongside recent interventions to showcase these masterpieces of light. The collections at the Vitromusée, Swiss Museumof Stained Glass and Contemporary Glass Art are rare and precious.
Special attention is paid to young visitors, who have their own workshop where creative activities are on offer. A hunt for a mischievous ghost leads children on a journey of discovery through the museum and its works.
New Glass-section: Glass is omnipresent in our daily lives, and has been so for millenia. Decorative and functional objects in glass became part of the Vitromusée’s collections.
The Vitromusée also owns a selection of artworks in glass from the Saint-Prex glassworks, to which has been added recently an important collection of blown, moulded and pressed glass. Nine thematic sections present the history of glass from antiquity to the 20th century, as well as the important pressed glass production in the 19th century and the products of the Verrerie artistique of Saint-Prex created between 1928 and 1964. A virtual photo gallery, created in collaboration with the Centro Studi del Vetro of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, allows you to discover the internationally acclaimed glasses of the Venetian Seguso Vetri d'Arte studio through historical photographs. Finally, several films produced at the Corning Museum of Glass offer a glimpse into the millennia-old technique of glass blowing.
|Seniors / Full-time students / Disabled / Military||9.- CHF|
|Children under 16 in the company of an adult||Free|
|Groups of more than 10||9.- CHF|
|School classes or children’s groups||3.- CHF|
|1 hour||120.- CHF|
|1.5 hour||160.- CHF|
|2 hours||200.- CHF|
Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm (winter 11am to 5pm)
Closed on 25th December
Open 1st January since 2pm
Open on Easter Monday and Monday of Pentecôte
Last Sundays of the month at 2.30 pm, free guided tour of the exhibitions (1 hour).
From April, the public guided tour starts at 2 pm
Guided tours in frenche, german and english, to book at the tourist office :
Price: CHF 120.- for a group of max 25 people + entry fee CHF 9.- (10 people min)
Panorama - 1h30
Price: CHF 160.- for a group of max 25 people + entry fee CHF 9.- (10 people min)
Details- 2h30 including 30 min. pause
Price: CHF 200.- for a group of max 25 people + entry fee CHF 9.- (10 people min)
Theses visits can be completed with other guided tours (city of Romont, Museum of wallpaper in mézières or any other visits in the region (churches, etc).
Information and bookings: Office du Tourisme de Romont et sa région