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Top 10 Intriguing Facts about The Museum of Cultures, Basel

The Museum of Culture (Basel) is the largest anthropological museum in Switzerland and one of the most eminent of its kind in Europe. 

It collects and exhibits works and objects from around the world for the purpose of raising awareness and understanding of all cultures.

The museum collections are renowned throughout the world and include over 340,000 objects, around 50,000 historical photographs, and roughly 200,000 documentary images.

Its origin is traced to the 1840s when the city of Basel founded its Museum of Natural History and Ethnography to house artifacts and artworks collected by merchants and travelers.

Here are the top 10 intriguing facts about the museum of cultures, Basel

1. It was established in 1893

The Museum of Cultures, Basel was founded in 1893. In its long history, the museum has changed its name several times. Milestones on its journey include the major refurbishment, the new concept, and the reopening in 2011.

In the early days, the collections consisted largely of objects collected by members of the Basel bourgeoisie on their journeys across the world. Later, this task was taken over by scholars such as Fritz and Paul Sarasin.

They contributed significantly to the growth and wealth of the museum鈥檚 holdings, thus coining the museum鈥檚 orientation for many years to come.

2. It has the best museum shop in Basel

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The Museum of Cultures, Basel is considered to have the best museum gift shop in the city of Basel. It holds a fantastic selection of top-quality items for adults and children, thanks to its exclusive museum collection of scarves, bags, and fans.

The museum shop is open to all and it is popular for its wide range of commodities which include clothes and jewelry. Others are home accessories, toys, and stationery items from across the world.

3. Visit the Museum Rollerhof  Bistro

The Rollerhof offers delicious and varied bistro cuisine as well as tapas from around the world. Despite the restaurant鈥檚 modern furnishing, it is evident that the house holds a lot of history.

It offers a large range of snacks and full bistro meals 鈥� from salad bowls to quiches and Tarte flamb茅es, to St Gallen veal sausages with r枚sti. One of their specialties is Entrecote Caf茅 de Paris. Weekly changing menus complement the culinary offer.

The Museum Bistro holds centuries of Basel history on its walls. The 鈥淩ollerhof鈥� was mentioned in the public records for the first time in 1355. Previous owners include the Basel minster chapter, city mayors, factory owners, as well as a bankers associated with the royal Austrian-Hungarian court.

4. The Museum offers Learning Programmes for Students

Based on many years of didactic experience, the team of Learning and Programmes at the Museum of cultures regularly puts together a rich and attractive program for school and kindergarten classes.

In guided tours, moderated gallery sessions, and workshops, the pupils concern themselves with familiar everyday topics which, nevertheless, hold many surprises. In the course of the sessions, they engage with diverse cultures around the world.

They encounter a wide range of cultural artifacts and are given the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute their own experiences. Now and then, they even become explorers themselves.

5. Discover the Museum Collections

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The Museum of Cultures offers public guided tours every week on Sundays. They explore current exhibitions in detail and throw light on their exhibits from many angles. Some tours revolve around topics that are common to the museum exhibitions and others are more focused on the History of the Museum.

Discover the history of the Museum and the objects in its collections. Make connections between the past and the present and, indeed, yourself while also gaining insight into the specialist views of anthropologists.

Public guided tours are in German. Signed tours for hearing-impaired visitors are available on particular Sundays. During carnival time, tours of the exhibition 鈥淏asel Carnival鈥� are given additionally in English and French.

Sunday tours are included in the admission fee. Private tours may be booked separately during or outside the usual opening hours.

6. The Museum of Cultures, Basel hosts the Annual 鈥淏asel Carnival鈥�

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Set in historical rooms, the Museum offers a colorful overview of the world-famous Basel carnival. It ranges from costumes, lanterns, masks, and musical instruments to historical documents and a replica of a typical 鈥渃arnival pub鈥�.

The permanent exhibition 鈥淏asel Carnival鈥� takes visitors into a historical suite of rooms abounding with the unmistakable atmosphere of carnival.

Accompanied by the typical sound of piccolos and drums, visitors proceed from room to room. These are richly furnished with mostly historical artifacts which lend the Basel carnival its typical guise.

7. It is the Largest of its Kind in Switzerland

With about 300,000 objects and a similar number of historic photographs, the museum is the largest of its kind in Switzerland and one of the biggest in Europe. It also serves the canton of Basel City by documenting and preserving the local cultural legacy.

The museum’s most recent exhibitions have emphasized intercultural comparisons and dialog. The 2007鈥�2008 exhibition “Red: Hot on the Trail of a Color” drew on all of the museum’s resources to explore the significance of red in human societies.

8.  It has Oldest Museum Library in Switzerland

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The library of the Museum of culture Basel and of the Ethnological Seminar of Basel University is the largest and oldest specialized ethnological library in Switzerland.

With a collection of roughly 100,000 publications 鈥� including 200 current scientific journals 鈥� the library has a vast range of resources to offer. Its focus is on the museum鈥檚 diverse fields of collection and on anthropological theory.

In addition, the library holds a collection of children’s books from the estate of Elisabeth-Brigitte Schindler-Holzapfel. The library is open to all and free of charge.

9. The Museum of Cultures, Basel Holds more than 340,000 Objects

The collections of the Museum of Culture (Basel) go back to the mid-19th century. With the valuable pieces from Ancient America donated by the Basel businessman Lukas Vischer, the city at the knee of the Rhine came into possession of one of the first ethnological collections in Europe.

Today, the Museum of culture Basel is among the most important ethnographic museums in Europe. Its collection of more than 340’000 objects is impressive and of world renown.

Over generations, comprehensive collections were built up focusing on particular areas, with valuable objects from Europe, Africa, America, Oceania, Indonesia, South, Central, and East Asia.

10. The Museum is easily Accessible

In 2008, the museum opened a new main entrance on the M眉nsterplatz, making the museum more accessible.  It also gave it a clearly distinct identity from the Museum of Natural History.

The museum plans to further expand its exhibition space. These plans are on hold to allow for a thorough archaeological investigation of the museum courtyard. As of July 2008 investigators had found evidence of late Roman settlement on the site.

Practical information

Address: M眉nsterpl. 20, 4051 Basel, Switzerland

Hours: 10:00am 鈥� 5:00pm  Monday: closed

Phone: +41 61 266 56 00