Musée suisse de l'Orgue, Museum in Roche, Switzerland

The musée suisse de l'Orgue occupies a former relay barn, the relais de la Roche, on the oldest Roman road in Switzerland leading to the Great St Bernard Pass. Its collection runs from a full-size reconstruction of the hydraulic organ of Alexandria (246 BC) to the Tschanun concert organ of 1934 with 2,700 pipes, and includes a 6-metre-tall case built in 1778 by organ builder Samson Scherrer.

The museum was founded in 1968 in Essertes by Jean-Jacques Gram, at a time when many old instruments were being discarded. As the collection grew, he accepted an offer in 1983 to move it to Roche, into a historic building dating from the 12th century. The commune of Roche had bought and renovated the former relay barn, known as the relais de la Roche, in 1970; it stands on the oldest Roman road in Switzerland, leading to the Great St Bernard Pass.

The museum focuses on pipe organ building as a craft passed down over generations in Switzerland. Visitors can see the tools and techniques used by organ makers, which brings the work of these craftspeople close.

The museum is open by reservation only, at least one week in advance, and is generally accessible from late April to late October. The building is not heated, so a visit on a mild day is a good idea.

The museum holds an organ built from chocolate, alongside centuries-old Emmentaler house organs and the three-manual Tschanun organ of Radio Lausanne. A cut-away organ shows the mechanism inside, and demonstrations and workshops on pipe building are given. The collection began in Essertes in 1968, when many old instruments were being thrown away.