Advertisement ::

Enlarge Cartoon

Just for a change, I thought I would take a detour from ‘Book My Place’ and talk about a ‘Museum My Place’

In ‘La France Voisine’, about an hour’s drive from Geneva in the beautiful Jura lakes area, at Clairvaux Les Lacs, there is an astonishing new museum – Les Machines à Nourrir le Monde.

A shepherd in the hamlet of Augisey who had time on his hands created his own toolbench and spent forty-five years of his life creating scale models entirely out of a variety of woods. When he died in 2000, his family arranged to have his life’s work on show in Clairvaux.

The visit begins with a film that shows that all the models are working models and complete even to the minute screws, pipes and tools.

For us, the agricultural machines were the most fascinating. We visited the museum with a group that included several local farmers and they exclaimed with joy that they had used those very machines in their youth. These ranged from simple hand ploughs to elaborate harvesting machines. We couldn’t help thinking how the display demonstrated how a machine today can do the work of ten men.

The museum is open from May to September and can cater for groups. There is a small gift shop selling attrative wooden items ranging from wind chimes and fruit bowls to toys. Call 0033 684741310 or 0033 384258177 for information or contact@museemaquettebois.fr or http://www.museemaquettebois.fr

A fine way to complete your day in that area is to take a cruise on Le Louisiane, the paddle steamer that takes you for commented trips along the Lac de Vouglans, a beautiful, 35 km long remote wooded lake. (Telephone 0033 384254678 for details.)

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.