Take a look at this piece of furniture below. Is it an early telephone box or is it a guard’s sentry box perhaps? You could hazard many guesses as to its use. However, one elderly visitor to the Maison Michel in Coppet knew exactly what it was when he saw it – he remembered it from his own childhood. It’s a box that was used to discipline naughty children at school. Children were told to go inside the box if they misbehaved and they had to stay there for a length of time. The wooden bolts ensured that they couldn’t escape.
This box was found in the old school in Coppet and is on display with many other items in the attic of the Maison Michel (this is also the Museum of Coppet). The museum is set in an old house and is well worth a visit to get a small glimpse of Swiss history and what life was like for the bourgeoise of Coppet in the early 19th century.
A visit to the Maison Michel was organised by Nyon Tourism and Enjoy Switzerland on Thursday evening to highlight what Coppet has to offer its visitors. The other reason for the event, was for those involved in tourism to meet and exchange ideas over an “apero”. This followed a presentation on the success of the Enjoy Switzerland campaign by Jean-Pierre Pralong (head of the campaign in the Nyon region).
This year has been a record year for visitors to the area, but it is predicted that the current economic crisis and other influencing factors (such as the exchange rate between the Euro and Swiss Franc) will affect future visitors, so those involved in Enjoy Switzerland are constantly looking at how to improve facilities and to continue to attract tourists.
Future plans of welcoming visitors to Nyon were also explained. These ranged from staff training in the shops that serve tourists, to a recognised quality mark of approval in businesses, to other ideas such as placing a big montage with of photos of local people saying “Welcome” in many languages up on a wall of the railway station.
If you are interested in visiting the Maison Michel you can either go on it as part of a guided walking tour of Coppet, or by advance request as an individual or group during the months of November to March. In the summer months the museum has regular opening hours. See Coppet’s website or call 022 776 39 34 or 022 776 1674
The house is snuck away at 30 Grand Rue under the arches of the old town (you could walk past it without knowing it’s there – a helpful hint look out for the patisserie next door). It’s a tall and narrow house due to the fact that when it was built (it dates back to the 16th C) taxes were levied on the width of houses which were measured by the front of the house.
There’s a living room and very cosy kitchen which has been kept in the same condition as it was found when the house was left by Madame Michel to the commune of Coppet in 1944. There’s a bedroom, music room, stairs for the gentry at the front of the house and stairs for the domestic servants at the back.
This opens on to Rue Froide. This was also named “Bug Alley” because the maids threw their household refuse there and it attracted the bugs and cockroaches. Then of course there is the attic with “that” box, so if your children are being particularly difficult at the moment, why not take them along….