Invitation to stroll or to be agitated, the terraced garden of the Olympic museum has real unifying virtues.
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Baron de Coubertin contemplates Lake Geneva, the Olympic fire and the footballers of Niki de Saint Phalle.
Florian Cella/24Heures
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–The majestic fountain on the lake side.
Florian Cella/24Heures
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–To leave, tourists take the staircase whose steps bear the names of the sportsmen who lit the cauldron of the Winter and Summer Games.
Florian Cella/24Heures
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On the quays of Ouchy, Lake Geneva is playing with a stain of still oil. So much so that on the other side of the road, the joyful eddies of the impressive fountain of the Olympic Museum invite walkers to come and dive in with their fingers or toes. The fresh delight never lasts long, as the path that winds along the park makes us an eye. A path that measures exactly 1,363 Greek feet, the distance of a tour of the Olympic stadium…
We take a breath by taking photos
We meet both relaxed walkers, hands crossed behind their backs who are delighted to see bees gathering in the fields planted with herbs and wild flowers, as well as sportsmen who have come to measure themselves against their illustrious bronze colleagues. Since the park opened in 1993, a perpetual race has taken place between Paavo Nurmi (multiple Olympic champion between 1920 and 1928), Emil Zátopek and the many jogging enthusiasts who choose either to go up the laces – with stops to photograph the statues or catch your breath – either for the straight line of the stairs to the steps bearing the names of the athletes who lit the cauldron of the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
Messages of peace, integration and sharing
But the park of the Olympic Museum is not a place to seek to break records. Or then only on the 100 m track, where you can measure yourself against Usain Bolt, whose breathtaking progression is illustrated by red lights which are triggered at each departure. On the contrary, it is good to stroll in these 8000 m² offered by the City of Lausanne and the Lausanne people to the International Olympic Committee. Take the time to soak up the landscape, the beautifully maintained vegetation – the tulips in spring would almost stop the cyclists of the sculptor Gabor Mihaly – and the messages of peace, integration and sharing conveyed by the works of art.
In 2008, the museum and its park were completely transformed. The transformation of the gardens was entrusted to the Atelier du Paysage, which worked in continuity to magnify this space open to all, a sort of taste of the Olympic Museum but which is also savored intensely alone.
“I like spending time in the gardens, often on a bench with my midday meal. I meet families, students and tourists. The energy that comes out is very invigorating ”
Angelita Teo is the new director of the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage. Or the happy “patron” of the place. She remembers her first visit very well. “It was in May 2019, when I came to Lausanne for the first time. It was a wonderful day and I had to visit the museum. But I ended up spending more than an hour in the gardens! I must admit that I was quite tired when I arrived at the top: I come from Singapore where there are escalators everywhere! ” Since then, she has gotten used to her new sight somewhat, but never tires of it. “I like spending time in the gardens, often on a bench with my midday meal. I meet families, students and tourists. The energy that comes out is very invigorating. ”
–Olympian musician and snowboarder Pat Burgener and Angelita Teo in the gardens of the Olympic Museum.
CIO
It is true that the park of the Olympic Museum has unifying virtues. Come by the lake to see the Olympic fire burn in its cauldron, by the Élysée by following the path traced by the microgymnast on its beam or by the city where a charming kiosk is hidden in front of the famous gun pistol knotted (“Non violence”, by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd), there is something to discover everywhere.
And the surprises are not only hidden behind the beautiful trees. In 2016, the park of the Olympic Museum attracted crowds of Pokémon hunters, since you could catch – thanks to an application on your smartphone – some rare specimens. One more way to attract young audiences who are always looking for movement. Too bad, therefore, that the small kiosk on the climb no longer sells ice cream to invite them to stay a little longer … And what about the two panels “Skateboarding prohibited”? Isn’t “skateboarding”, as we say in Vaudois, now an Olympic sport?
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