Rath Museum (Musée Rath)

Geneva’s Rath Museum (Musée Rath) is the oldest museum in Switzerland built specifically for art and one of the first buildings in Europe designed to host art exhibits. Built in the 1820s, it was designed as a temple of muses, inspired by the temples of ancient Greece. While it was originally used for permanent art exhibitions, teaching and other cultural events, by the late 19th century it became too small for its collections. Since the larger Musee d’Art et d’Histoire opened in 1910, the Rath Museum has hosted smaller exhibitions of Swiss and international art and archaeology, including temporary exhibits of the Musee d’Art. The most recent exhibition is Nightfall: Gothic Imagination Since Frankenstein.