Aviation pioneers in the Three Lakes Region

The focus is on the new temporary exhibition “Aviation Pioneers in the Three Lakes Region.” The area around Murten was one of the true birthplaces of Swiss aviation in the 1910s. Figures such as Ernest Failloubaz, René Grandjean, Charles Favre and Georges Cailler shaped this era with courage, technical skill, and a remarkable pioneering spirit.

Particularly noteworthy is René Grandjean, who was the first to design an aircraft that could be equipped with skis, wheels, and floats. These flying machines were built with the simplest of means, yet with great ingenuity and the support of local blacksmiths and wheelwrights.

Running alongside this exhibition is the anniversary show “10 Years of ESMC,” which looks back on the museum’s development. Through press articles and insights into past exhibitions at DasDepot, the museum’s story is vividly brought to life. Previous exhibition themes — including local stagecoach transport, human muscle power, wood as fuel, and motor vehicle pioneers within a 30-kilometre radius of Murten — are presented through archive photographs and selected objects.
A new section entitled “Collection” has also been introduced, displaying special objects acquired over recent years in a style reminiscent of an open storage collection. Many of these items were donated by visitors.

From the opening day onward, a new publication from the ESMC publishing house will also be available: “Voiturette Wavre 1916 and Other Motor Vehicle Manufactories.” The book is the result of many years of research into the museum’s unique Voiturette Wavre, which was hand-built and officially registered in 1916 by 16-year-old Neuchâtel resident Eric Wavre. The publication also sheds light on other little-known vehicle manufacturers from the region between 1885 and 1935.

3 May 2026 – 11 October 2026
Opening hours: Wednesdays and Sundays, 14:00–16:00