Things to do in Switzerland, Switzerland: The Best History Museums

Das Heimatmuseum hat eine lange Geschichte. Der Weg von der einfachen Walser Siedlung über die verschiedenen Auswanderungswellen und den Aufstieg des Tales zur Hoffnung Tuberkulosekranker aus aller Welt bis zum Umbau zur heutigen modernen Sport- und Kongressstadt war lang und bewegt. Dokumente, Bilder und Objekte machen die Lokalgeschichte sichtbar.

Built between 1903 and 1910 by Genevan architect Marc Camoletti, with the aim of regrouping under one roof a number of dispersed public collections, the Musée d'art et d'histoire is one of Switzerland's most important encyclopaedic museums. Boasting over half a million objects including a number of major works and unique series that have made it an institution of international stature, the museum maintains a permanent exhibition of a selection of itsapplied arts, fine arts and archaeology collections. Regional archaeological discoveries, Egyptian and Classical antiquities, artworks, furniture, arms, musical instruments, paintings and sculptures all bear witness to 15,000 years of history. A renovation and enlargement project is currently underway and constitutes one of the major challenges facing the Museum over the coming years.

This historic building, the foundations of which date back to the 12th century, houses a museum that documents the history of the city.

Built around a glacial pothole that has survived since the Ice Age, this museum also displays artifacts from throughout the town's history. Moreover, a special mirror maze is always a highlight for every person.

Housed in the Barfüsserkirche since 1894, Basel Historical Museum presents selected aspects of the history of Basel from prehistoric times to the present. Especially worthy of note here are the works of pre-Reformation sacred art such as the Basel Dance of Death and Basel Cathedral Treasury. The section called «Understanding the World» installed in the basement comprises a magnificent array of medieval tapestries with their fantasy worlds and scenes of real life, the Renaissance and Baroque collections grouped together in one «Great Cabinet of Curiosities», and Basel’s rich archaeological heritage. Among the other highlights here are the coin cabinet and Burgundian Booty.

The Bernisches Historisches Museum is one of the most important museums of cultural history in Switzerland. The collections of archaeology, history and ethnography include approximately 500,000 objects dating from the Stone Age to the present and representing cultures from all over the world. The hydria from Graechwil, the Burgundian tapestries, the diptych from Königsfelden and a series of ethnographical objects as well as coins and medals are all internationally renowned. Besides these, other highlights of the permanent exhibitions include the spectacular Bernese sculptures, two Bernese mayoral thrones and much more. The integrated Einstein Museum offers an account of the life and work of the physicist and places it in a fascinating manner in the context of world history. Temporary exhibitions are regularly staged in the generously proportioned exhibition hall.