Local & Cultural Context
A wide range of facilities and cultural attractions are available in the region of RiR Peute Goutte, some of which are illustrated below.
Nearby villages: Ventron, Travexin, Cornimont, La Bresse, Le Thillot
Ventron is about a 20-minute walk from the RiR Peute Goutte residence, following one of two scenic trails descending through the forest to the valley. Ventron has a single cafe on the village square and a kiosk that also sells bread, pastries, and basic food products. Another general store and speciality shop is located on the outskirts of the village at the foot of one of the two trails. In addition to the usual visitor information about the region, the Ventron Tourist Office provides a free wi-fi signal. There is a textile museum in the town. Outside Ventron is Hermitage Frère-Joseph, with a small ski resort and historic chapel. A network of hiking trails, many of which are noted on this brochure, weave through the mountains around this resort; tennis courts flank the ski slopes and wind gliding classes arranged by bol d’air make use of the slopes in the summer.
Travexin is situated on the main road between Ventron and Cornimont; although small and without general stores, it does have a pristine church and art gallery with wooden sculptures.
Cornimont is a five-minute descent by car along the road from RiR Peute Goutte. The walk down to the village takes about 20 minutes. The return hike requires a good hour because of the difference in elevation. Cornimont has a town square with several shops, cafes and restaurants, and a sport complex with swimming pool and bowling ally. On Sunday mornings there is weekly produce market in the town center. There is also a well stocked supermarket open seven days a week. Five kilometers up the road is La Bresse (ca. 5000 residents), which is is larger and has more stores; it also is near a more extensive ski area. On Sunday mornings there is a large open market. Le Thillot is some 12 km from RiR Peute Goutte.
Several cultural centers are in the region and within a relatively short distance by car. For example, an important illustration of 20th century religious architecture is located 43 km from RiR Peute Goutte. The Ronchamp Chapel, completed in 1955, is a destination for both religious pilgrims and for those with interest in modern architecture. Millions of tourists visit the site annually. The building structure is primarily made from concrete, but employed in a manner suggesting a dynamic curvaceous form. The building ranks as one of the most famous works in the oeuvre of the Swiss / French architect Le Corbusier. In 2008 the Italian architect Renzo Piano was commissioned to build an adjoining visitor center and convent for nuns of the Clarissine order. This new building is partially situated underground, retracted into the hill on which the Ronchamp Chapel designed by Le Corbusier remains prominent.
Nancy ( 120km), sometimes called the ‘Capital of the East’, is a city of art and architecture that rivals Paris. Thanks to the ‘School of Nancy’, which consisted of artists and architects active in the late 19th and early 20th century that worked in Art Nouveau style, Nancy earned that reputation. Now, the city offers a home to many Art Nouveau buildings. Furniture, glassware and other forms of decorative art in this style are housed in the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy. Place Stanislas is included on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage.
In Basel (86km) Museum Tinguely exhibits the whimsical art of the Swiss kinetic artist Jean Tinguely (1925-1991). The museum building was designed by architect Mario Botta. Near Basel, in Riehen, in 1997 the Museum of Modern Art Fondation Beyeler is located. The architect Renzo Piano designed the museum building that houses the art collection of the idiosyncratic collectors and gallery owners Hildy and Ernst Beyeler.
The Vitra Design Museum is an internationally renowned, privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany (93km). The museum focuses on product, industrial, corporate and architectural design. The museum houses one of the world’s largest collections of modern furniture design. In addition, the museum hosts workshops and has a range of publications and museum products, as well as an archive, restoration laboratory and research library. The concept of this museum dates back to the early 1980s. Documenting the history of the Vitra company, Rolf Fehlbaum began collecting the furniture of designers who had influenced the company’s development, such as Charles and Ray Eames, Alvar Aalto, and Jean Prouvé.
Vitrahaus combines two themes in the architectural practice of Herzog & De Meuron: the theme of the archetypal house and that of stacked volumes. The five-story structure is comprised of 12 ‘houses’ – five houses are set at the base in which seven other houses are stacked upon one another. Vitrahaus is the latest addition to the continuously expanding Vitra Campus that started as an industrial park with manufacturing facilities. Now the Vitra Design Museum - Frank Gehry’s first European building opened in 1989 – the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando (1993) and the Fire Station by Zaha Hadid (1993) already provide a magnificent visual attraction. Vitrahaus and a new circular manufacturing facility by Kazuyo Sejima/SANAA are recent entrants to the company campus.
Kunsthal Schaulager offers new perspectives on research in contemporary art. The institute fills the gap between traditional museum pedagogy and art education at the university level. Schaulager maintains and promotes contacts with experts and institutes in the field of cultural studies and visual arts. In particular Schaulager supports scientific projects and educational activities in the visual arts.
Strasbourg (150km) is the capital of the Alsace region in northeast France and headquarters of many European institutions. In 2006, after restoration of the interior, Aubette opened to the public. This collective work is called the ‘Sistine Chapel of abstract art’. In addition to examples of Art Nouveau-style buildings Strasbourg provides spectacular examples of functional postwar architecture, including the European Court of Human Rights. The latter was designed by the architect Richard Rogers. Other notable buildings are the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain and the terminus Hoenheim-Nord – part of the modern tram network designed by Saha Hadid. A parallel initiative to the design of this transport network was inviting a number of internationally renowned artists such as Barbara Kruger and Mario Mertz to create installations on nodes of the tram line. The Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain is one of the largest museums of its kind in France. In the Arte Building the French-German TV network Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne is housed. The European cultural channel aims for quality programming in the areas of culture and art. The Ecole supérieure des Arts Decoratifs (ESAD) is an art school with a reputation in Europe. Furthermore, the Bibliotheque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg (BNUS) is the second largest library in France.
Other culturally-rich cities nearby the RiR include: Mullhous (50km) ; Winterthur (190km); Zürich (170km); Dijon (212km) and Freiburg (110km).
