Swiss museums honoured with European awards

An agricultural museum and a restored abbey have won awards in the European Museum of the Year competition held in Barcelona. The Burgrain Agricultural Museum in canton Lucerne and the Abbey Church Museum in Payerne, canton Vaud, won individual categories in the EMYA ceremony. The EMYA jury praised the Burgrain Agricultural Museum for promoting sustainability and stimulating discussions about the climate and natural resources. The museum in Alberswil was redesigned in 2021 at a cost of CHF3 million ($3.4 million). The Abbey Church Museum was described as “an institution housed inside one of the most important masterpieces of Romanesque architecture”. The exhibition takes visitors through the complex 1,000 years of history of the ancient church. Payerne Abbey was designated an historic monument in Switzerland in 1990. The largest Romanesque church in Switzerland was re-opened to the public last summer after more than a decade of restoration work.