The Villa Patumbah and Sumatra

2 June 2022

Carl Fürchtegott Grob (1830-1893) built the Villa Patumbah and a coach house in historicist style in 1883-1885. In 1890, the landscape architect Evariste Mertens (1846-1907) extended the park in an English landscape garden style.

A fountain, flower beds, sculptures and a garden pavilion adorn the area near the villa. From 1911 to 1976, the building was a home for the elderly.

The villa houses the Swiss Heritage Centre (Heimatschutzzentrum) today. It presents exhibitions and the history of the villa. The permanent exhibition highlights the building culture from three different angles. It deals with the changes in the landscape, architecture and architectural monuments.

The temporary exhibition deals with the history of Villa Patumbah. It focuses on the colonial connections of the builder Carl F. Grob and other Swiss in South-East Asia.

It shows the exhibition “Patumbah lies on Sumatra”. The texts are available in German and French with English handouts.

(Source and further information: www.heimatschutzzentrum.ch).