![Voltaire Museum and Garden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Voltaire_Museum_and_Garden.JPG)
The Institut et Musée Voltaire is a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
dedicated to the life and works of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
. The museum is housed in
Les Délices
Les Délices ("The Delights") was from 1755 to 1760 the home of the French philosopher Voltaire (1694–1778) in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 1952 it has housed the Institut et Musée Voltaire, a museum dedicated to his life and works.
Voltaire's ...
, which was Voltaire's home from 1755 until 1760.
The property was bought by the city of Geneva in 1929, and the museum opened in 1952, founded by
Theodore Besterman
Theodore Deodatus Nathaniel Besterman (22 November 1904 – 10 November 1976) was a Polish-born British psychical researcher, bibliographer, biographer, and translator. In 1945 he became the first editor of the ''Journal of Documentation''. From ...
.
It contains about 25,000 volumes on Voltaire and the 18th century as well as a collection of paintings and prints from the period, many depicting Voltaire, his relatives and acquaintances.
References
External links
Institut et Musée Voltaire€”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institut et Musee Voltaire
Museums in Geneva
Biographical museums in Switzerland
Voltaire
Literary museums in Switzerland
Historic house museums in Switzerland