Frog Museum

**Estavayer-le-Lac Museum**
	Facade of the Estavayer-le-Lac museum
Data
place	Estavayer-le-Lac
Art	Regional museum
opening	1927
Website	https://www.museedesgrenouilles.ch/de

The Estavayer Museum (also: Fröschemuseum ) is a cultural institution in Estavayer-le-Lac in the canton of Friborg in Switzerland . It was founded in 1927 and is housed in a stately home from the 15th century. It is often called the Frog Museum because of its collection of prepared frogs .

history

The Estavayer Museum is a regional museum. A large part of the collections consists of donations from families in Estavayer and Freiburg. These reflect the culture and history of the region. The nickname Frog Museum comes from the collection of 108 naturalized frogs. They present themselves in human poses and illustrate everyday life in the 19th century.

The museum was founded in 1900 by the Société de développement de la ville , the predecessor of the tourist office. The official inauguration, in its current form as a community museum, took place on May 8, 1927.

The museum has five thematically different halls: weapons, everyday life, domestic life, natural history and agriculture and the frog collection. The museum also offers temporary exhibitions.

History of the building

The museum is housed in an old mansion that was owned by Humbertus the Bastard from 1406 until his death in 1443. He was governor of Estavayer and the half-brother of Amedeus VIII , Count of Savoy .

The street front has remained almost unchanged since 1408 with a row of windows with dazzling tracery. There were several courtyards at the back of the house. Originally dedicated to growing vegetables, they are now a public park accessible through the passage under the museum.

Collections

weapons

The Estavayer Museum has a weapons collection made up of local donations as well as items from abroad. Most of this collection was bequeathed by Hubert de Boccard. Well-traveled adventurer, he also served in the army. His interest in weapons is evident in his collection, which includes guns and guns, knives and other military equipment.

The narrow border with France has brought foreign regiments into the region twice: the internment of the Bourbakis in 1870 and that of the Spahis in World War II . Their traces, in the form of military objects and donations, later became part of the museum.

Everyday objects

This collection consists mainly of gifts from local families and originated from handicrafts and domestic life. Wooden, leather and metal tools from the field of handicrafts, clothing, accessories and board games from the domestic sector. This includes a kitchen reconstructed in the style of the 17th century and spinning wheels, as well as locks and keys.

art

A variety of paintings adorn the walls of the exhibition. Portraits of historical personalities and members of important families in the region, views of Estavayer and the surrounding area, as well as religious representations. The collaged cobwebs by Georges Hauchecorne are unique.

Natural history

The museum also has a natural history collection that consists of a large number of birds from the region but also animals from other countries. A caiman is one of those more exotic animals.

Frog collection

The Estavayer Museum's most famous collection is the one that gives it the nickname Frog Museum: the 108 naturalized frogs. It was created in the mid-19th century and is attributed to François Perrier, who served as a non-commissioned officer at the Vatican until 1848.

The frogs assume human poses and show scenes from everyday life at the time: an election banquet, a classroom, a family dinner or as soldiers doing exercises. The frog collection was bequeathed to the museum in the 1920s and 1930s. It was restored between 2012 and 2015 and the exhibition was redesigned for the occasion.