The Giger Museum – An Alien Encounter in Gruyères

In the Land of the Gruyère Cheese, The Giger Museum Seems an Oddity:

Fans of the “Alien” movies will be pleased to know that the Museum H R Giger is in Gruyères. This Giger Museum is home to the permanent collection of the works of H.R. Giger, the award winning Swiss designer of Ridley Scott’s blockbuster “Alien” movies.

After visits to medieval towns and castles and the amazingly beautiful mountain scenery of Switzerland, it’s strange to find a museum such as the  Giger Museum in Gruyères.  So how did this 400-year old historic walled town of Gruyères get chosen to be home to science fiction, extraterrestrial designs, ideas and beings?

Why Was Gruyères Chosen?

In celebration of Giger’s 50th birthday in 1990, he was invited to stage a major retrospective of his work at the Château de Gruyères. The exhibition “Alien dans ses Meubles” was a huge success, drawing attendance by some 110,000 visitors. After many subsequent visits to the medieval village of Gruyères, Giger fell in love with the region. When he heard that Château St. Germain was available for sale, he acquired it with the intention to establish his own museum and gallery.

The Giger Museum opened its doors in 1998. On permanent display at the Museum is the most extensive collection of artworks from Giger’s different creative periods, including most of his film designs such as the artwork of “Alien” and “Alien 3”, “Dune”, “Species”, “Poltergeist 2” and “The Mystery of San Gottardo”.  Even if you’re keen on Alien movies, the exhibits are very impressive.

Sadly, Giger died on May 13, 2014 after falling down the stairs at his Zurich home. He was 74 years old.

Spacing Out at the Giger Bar

Next to the Museum is the amazing Giger Bar whose interior is like the insides of an alien spaceship and the furniture and decor adopt alien themes as well. If you feel like being lost in a Sci-fi world, this is a really surreal bar to have your drink in. But better not have too many, or you might start feeling a little off the planet and start seeing things burst out of people’s chests…

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