Musée des machines à nourrir et courir le monde
Private museum in Clairvaux-les-Lacs with around a hundred working wooden models by Marcel Yerly, along with other models.
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About the museum
The museum presents the work of Marcel Yerly, born in Treyvaux, Switzerland, in 1915 and died in 2000. This farmer, who had lived in the Jura since the age of 10, built nearly a hundred wooden models over about fifty years, starting at the end of the war. The mechanical parts, also made of wood, work.
The models range from 50 centimetres to 3 metres. They depict agricultural machines, aeroplanes, locomotives, cars, a boat and a motorcycle. Marcel Yerly made them by hand on a basic foot-powered workbench equipped with a saw, a drill, a sander and a wood lathe.
The exhibition covers around 1,000 m². A 15-minute film shows how the models work and the artist at work. Marcel Yerly also painted more than a hundred pictures: scenes of village life in earlier times, and landscapes of Switzerland and Franche-Comté.
Further collections complete the route: models made by two Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, legendary aeroplanes by Maurice Prudent, boats by Guy Confuron and a model of a Jura sawmill.
Highlights
- Around a hundred wooden models by Marcel Yerly with working mechanical parts
- 15-minute film on the artist and his machines
- Paintings by Marcel Yerly
- Models by two Meilleurs Ouvriers de France
- Legendary aeroplanes, boats and a model of a Jura sawmill
Permanent exhibitions
- Collection Yerly – Nearly a hundred wooden models by Marcel Yerly, from 50 centimetres to 3 metres, with working mechanical parts.
- Maquettes de Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – Models made by two Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, Désiré Banderier and Jean Barillot.
- Les peintures de Marcel Yerly – Paintings of scenes of village life in earlier times and of landscapes of Switzerland and Franche-Comté.
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €9.50 |
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| Children & teens | €6.50free up to age 5 · Rate for children under 12; free for children under 6. |
Payment by bank card, cheque, holiday vouchers (chèques-vacances) or cash.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 5 |
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The museum explicitly invites families to visit.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Large car park on site, convenient for coaches and groups.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
Gift and souvenir shop with Jura products at the end of the visit. Picnic area.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | A 15-minute film introduces the models before the visit. The large car park can easily accommodate big groups; the museum must be contacted to arrange a group visit. |
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