Museum of Cultures (Basel)

The Museum of Cultures is a traditional ethnological museum on Cathedral Square in Basel. It is considered the largest ethnological museum in Switzerland. The canton of Basel-Stadt is the recipient of the museum, which houses approximately 300,000 objects as well as many historical photographs.

History

1849 was a universal museum was set up in place of the Augustinian monastery on the Basel Cathedral Hill. His ethnographic collection has grown through donations to one of the most important in Europe, after Basel upper classes began to bring ethnographic objects from their overseas trips. The museum does not have a colonial or missionary background. Later, Basel researchers with ethnographical interest contributed to the collection. Opened in 1904, a Department of Folklore Museum. It was not until 1917 under instruments of international and folklore collections has its own museum, from 1944 under the name Museum of Ethnology and Swiss Museum of Ethnology. Over time, the focus shifted to the museum by the mediating " foreign cultures " to intercultural dialogue, which is why it was renamed on 1 December 1996 in the Museum der Kulturen.

Exhibitions

The collection includes objects from Europe, Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America and Oceania, including a 16 -meter high house of worship Abelam in Papua New Guinea. Since the name change, the museum has profiled by major special exhibitions, including:

  • Bhutan - Fortress of the Gods (1998)
  • Basler Fasnacht - People behind masks (1999)
  • Tibet - Buddha, gods, saints ( largest Tibet exhibition in Europe, since 2001)
  • Bali - Island of the Gods (2002)
  • Festivals of Lights - The religious diversity of a city (2005)
  • Urban Islam - between mobile and Koran (2006)
  • Red - If color to the perpetrator is (2007/ 08)
  • Refined and beautiful - textiles from West Africa (2009 /10)
  • Chinatown (2011 /12)
  • Suspended - the ease of Stone ( 2012)
  • Pilgrims booming (2012 /13)
  • Expeditions (since 2012)

Building

The resulting 1844-1849 Museum was inspired by Schinkel's Building Academy, Melchior Berri's main work.

From October 2008 to August 2011, the museum was rebuilt according to the plans of the Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron and expanded. The entrance to the museum is now located directly on Cathedral Square. This makes it easier to reach the one hand and on the other hand, separated from the Natural History Museum. The courtyard side extension of the architects Vischer & Söhne 1917 has been extended with a folded attic for special exhibitions, which protrudes far beyond the old building and its surfaces were covered with hexagonal, black and green tiles. Because of these materials and design of the extension by the Swiss Heritage was initially opposed. The entrance hall with cloakroom and museum shop was placed in the basement, which was exposed and glazed by lowering the yard level.

Abelam people Museum of Cultures (Lugano) Rietberg Museum
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