MURTEN
SWITZERLAND
MURTEN
SWITZERLAND
MURTEN
SWITZERLAND

MURTEN

SWITZERLAND

2022

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Murten – SWITZERLAND

A lakeside medieval town

The town has a history that precedes more than 6,000 years and, as the scene of a great battle, has played a major role in shaping Swiss history. Murten is known for its perfectly preserved and accessible city walls. Strolling through the old town, one can admire its arcades, but the eye is also drawn to the many beautiful fountains that adorn the streets. The municipality has always taken great care to preserve and maintain the fountains on its territory. The town council is therefore honoured that in 2009 Murten was awarded the Ernst and Hanna Hauenstein Foundation’s prize.

Furthermore, the museum of Murten is one of the oldest in the canton Fribourg.  Since 1978, it stands in the old water mill, situated under the surrounding walls of the city.

The permanent exhibition illustrates 6,000 years of the history of Morat and its area throughout its 5 levels. The various objects tell stories from a range of eras including the New Stone Age, Bronze age, Roman and the Medieval age. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the Museum Murten presents frequently changing exhibits. Various guided tours of Murten allow you to immerse yourself in this exciting history and expand your knowledge.

The town of Murten borders “Seeland”, one of the largest vegetable-growing areas in Switzerland. This attraction offers visitors the opportunity to discover the uniqueness of the organic fields in Switzerland’s largest vegetable garden.

HIGHLIGHTS

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Organic farming on the lakeside

As part of the cantonal project BIO Gemüse Seeland, Murten Tourism is committed to promoting sustainable tourism and organic farming in the Seeland. Through various offers and thanks to the collaboration with several partners, visitors can immerse themselves in the daily life of the region’s organic farmers and learn more about the origin of the vegetables on sale and about a more natural approach to farming, which is becoming more and more important in society today.

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Murten Light festival

The village aims to become the Swiss capital of Light Shows. During the light festival, the old town and the surroundings of Murten display various light animations by regional and international artists. Every evening, visitors can experience the ultimate sound and light show, a spectacle that lasts several hours. The primary attractions of the festival include projections by light specialists from Spectaculaires on the school building in front of the Berntor, a show in the main alley, various installations in the museum, and a light and sound display in the German Church.

This initiative has proven extremely popular and has resulted in approximately 90,000 visitors to the village per year. National, international and regional artists present their animations and light messages on different arteplages “a steel structure erected in an exhibition hall depicting an artistic display”.

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Economic strategy

Fighting seasonality with innovative products is a means by which the village has developed an economic development strategy. It plans to undertake several workshops with various partners to gain a thorough understanding of the needs of the main players in our economy and to respond with concrete measures.

The impact of tourism promotion will also be optimised through utilising a range of digital media measures. This work will be carried out in collaboration with the region’s tourism partners.