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 th ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

dedicated to the life and works of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

. 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