Built between 1891 and 1906, the Rumine Palace owes its existence to the work of a generous donor, heir to a family of high Russian nobility, Gabriel de Rumine. His father, Prince Basile de Rumine, had left Russia to treat his fragile health on the banks of Lake Geneva. After selling his lands and freeing his serfs, he settled in Lausanne in 1840 with his wife Catherine, descendant of a princely family, the Schakowskoi. It was in the Vaud capital, on rue Sainte-Luce, that their son Gabriel was born on January 16, 1841. His education was entrusted to the geologist Charles-Théophile Gaudin. In 1861, Gabriel de Rumine enrolled in the Special School. After obtaining his construction engineer diploma in 1864, he lived off his income and undertook numerous travels. He died of Typhoid fever in Bucharest in 1871. His will provides for a leg of 1,500,000 francs to the City of Lausanne, according to the following terms: "I give and bequeath to the city of Lausanne, canton of Vaud, Switzerland, the sum of 1,500,000 francs, which I would ask to be placed in good conditions so that this sum, being doubled, is used for the construction of a building which will be judged, fifteen years after my death, public utility by a commission of ten members chosen half from among the professors of the Academy, half from among the magistrates of the city."

The sum, placed according to the last wishes of the testator, was effectively doubled in 1886. A commission of ten magistrates and professors launched an international competition in 1889 "for the construction of the University of Lausanne", the building to house, east of the Riponne, the university, the cantonal library and several museums with a scientific and artistic vocation. Thirty-six projects were examined by a jury in 1890. It selected six, among which was a project entitled “Taureau-Farnese”, designed by the Lyon architect Gaspard André. It is this project which will become, after numerous modifications, the Rumine Palace that we have today.

ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT

METRO 

Metro M2, direction Croisettes : Station Riponne-M. Béjart

BUS

Bus n°1, 2, 7, 8, 16, 18, 60

ACCESS BY CAR

Palais de Rumine: Place de la Riponne 6, 1005 Lausanne

Underground parking, Parking Riponne