Segantini Museum

The Segantini Museum is a memorial museum to Giovanni Segantini on the hillside above Lake St. Moritz. Built in 1908 by Nicolaus Hartmann as an “accessible mausoleum”, it holds the most comprehensive collection of the artist’s works.

• Hartmann’s 1908 rotunda – the dome faces the Schafberg, where Segantini died; the design echoes the pavilion he planned for his Engadin panorama at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
• Centrepiece – the Alpine triptych “La vita – La natura – La morte”, acquired in parts from 1911 and later reunited with support from the Gottfried Keller Foundation.
• Holdings – 37 paintings and 26 drawings, including “Ave Maria Crossing the Lake” and “Midday in the Alps”.
• Growth – a semi-circular rear gallery added in 1981; major refurbishment and step-free access in 1999; in 2001 a long-term loan of 9 paintings and 3 drawings arrived.
• Visiting – seasonal: 20 May–20 Oct and 10 Dec–20 Apr, Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00, last entry 16:45; Monday closed.

• The domed hall with the Alpine Triptych and daylight modelling of the canvases.
• Painting and drawing galleries from early works to the late Divisionist period.
• The austere rotunda exterior and lake views from the forecourt.

Driven by local citizens and admirers, the museum opened in 1908 in Hartmann’s purpose-built rotunda. Initially reliant on loans, it began buying the Triptych’s side panels in 1911, eventually reuniting the work in St. Moritz with help from the Gottfried Keller Foundation.

Development continued with the rear gallery in 1981 and a 1999 overhaul that improved accessibility. In 2001 the collection was boosted by a substantial long-term loan of nine paintings and three drawings.

Location: Via Somplaz 30, 7500 St. Moritz – on the slope above the lake.

Getting there: From St. Moritz railway station – bus 605 to Segantini Museum (3 stops); parking next to the building.

Access: Wheelchair accessible; pushchairs are not allowed in the galleries and can be left at reception.

Visiting hours: 20 May–20 Oct and 10 Dec–20 Apr, Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00; last entry 16:45; closed on Mondays; closed on Jan 1, Good Friday, Easter & Pentecost Sundays, and 25 December.

Visit duration: 45–90 minutes.

Best time: Weekday mornings; a reliable bad-weather option.

Notes: Tickets – adults CHF 15, students 16–25 CHF 10, children 6–15 CHF 3; group tours and education programmes available outside regular hours on request.