This Museum-house celebrates a cow who is nigh on ninety years old and still smiling… and baring all those teeth !
A red cow… in a green house
Yes indeed, this very popular French cream-cheese known as "la vache qui rit" (the laughing cow) was born in Lons le Saunier here in the Franche-Comté. Let it be known that cheese has been manufactured in the Franche-Comté region since the Middle Ages. The Bel cheese-manufacturers came into being in Orgelet in 1865 and settled in Lons le Saunier in 1897. Léon Bel, the father of this well-loved specialty, set up his factory in Rue Richebourg and here perfected the recipe for the triangular cheese which is world-renowned today. The Museum-house was created on this same spot in the 2 cellars where the cheese was matured and includes contemporary constructions erected according to the precepts of High Environmental Quality. Thus on arriving in the entry-hall of the Museum you will perceive how the inner walls constructed of vegetable matter remove pollution and that the whole museum runs on photovoltaic energy.
For children and adults alike
The Museum opened to the public in May 2009, successfully meeting the challenge of entertaining at the same time both children and their parents. The visit begins with the clever idea of a chip card which clicks on a terminal to identify the visitor, who chooses a character for him or herself and can thus participate in the multimedia activities which follow. The laughing cow herself is our guide throughout the visit which starts in the original cellars. On the way, you will find out all you have ever wanted to know about this cheese but didn't dare to ask, as, for example, the name of the cheeses which compose the portions. Or again why the laughing cow laughs.
The saga of the laughing cow
In the other rooms of the Museum-house are to be found presentations of the advertising campaigns, without which marketing the cow would never have become the icon it is. And one must not forget that, in this sense, Léon Bel was also an inspired precursor . Therefore you will come across numerous posters such as that depicting the farmer carefully stocking a box of "vache qui rit" in his satchel before setting out for the fields. And not only these, but also cult-objects, design-items, films and video-games. There is also a space devoted to the brands who have imitated or plagiarized the one and only veritable cow.
The garden and boutique
Another diverting itinerary passes through the garden: strolling across an expanse of more than 1300 sq. meters, we learn how milk is transformed into cheese among the carved wooden figures and objects set out to illustrate this process. The activity is particularly suited to children. Finally, in the boutique at the end of your visit, you may not be able to resist the smile of the cow whom you have come to know so intimately and you will find here original cheese-boxes, china objects, books, posters and toys, to add a cheerful touch, for example, to your dining room.
