Ski museum to open in Swiss canton Jura
From Saturday, Switzerland's first ski museum will welcome its first visitors to Le Boéchet in canton Jura. The exhibition, housed in the former station restaurant of this village in the Franches-Montagnes region, is devoted to the history of downhill and cross-country skiing.
The new museum showcases the collection acquired over the years by Laurent Donzé. “It all started with a pair of skis in a barn,” the cross-country skiing enthusiast told Keystone-SDA on Tuesday at the presentation of his museum. Over the years, he has amassed thousands of pairs of skis, poles, as well as boots, helmets, race numbers and bindings.
This retired chemistry teacher had to make a choice when selecting the objects he wanted to exhibit. One pair of skis bears the date 1870. The museum also exhibits skis by famous sportsmen such as Didier Cuche and Dario Cologna
The museum looks at the evolution of equipment over the years and hopes to attract experts and non-skiers alike. It invites them to delve into the history of the sport from its humble beginnings to the present day.
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The permanent exhibition looks at the history of skiing, offering a chronological view of both Alpine and Nordic skiing. The scenography reflects the density of the collection in a wintry atmosphere, the museum said on Tuesday. Screens and audio devices also navigate audiences through the museum.
Past and present
Laurent Donzé, the museum’s curator and co-founder, wanted to focus not just on skiing’s past, but also on current issues such as the development of wax and the future of skiing. The temporary exhibitions reflect this approach, inviting visitors to explore and reflect.
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The temporary exhibition plunges visitors into the world of today’s competitions. The project was born out of discussions between Laurent Donzé and Swiss Ski. The aim is to symbolically mark the year in which the museum opens by presenting equipment used in competitions at that time, i.e. during the winter of 2023 and 2024.
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