Swiss National Museum

Zürich, Switzerland

The Swiss National Museum is one of the most important art museums of cultural history in Europe. The museum building of 1898 in the historicist style was built by Gustav Gull in the form of the French Renaissance city chateaus. The impressive architecture with dozens of towers, courts and his astonishing park on a peninsula between the rivers Sihl and Limmat has become one of the main sights of the Old City District of Zurich.

The exhibition tour takes the visitor from prehistory through ancient times and the Middle Ages to the 20th century (classic modern art and art of the 16th, 17th and 18th century is settled mainly in the Kunsthaus Museum in a different part of the city of Zurich). There is a very rich section with gothic art, chivalry and a comprehensive collection of liturgical wooden sculptures, panel paintings and carved altars. Zunfthaus zur Meisen near Fraumünster church houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum. There are also: a Collections Gallery, a place where there are Swiss furnishings being exhibited, an Armoury Tower, a diorama of the Battle of Murten, and a Coin Cabinet showing 14th, 15th, 16th century Swiss coins and even some coins from the Middle Ages.

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Founded: 1898
Category: Museums in Switzerland

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Troy Windhorst (2 years ago)
//GOOD: -- a perfect mix of vintage, historic displays and current technology -- the museum building itself is its own display of both historic architecture and wild corridors of ultra-modern styles; this building is absolutely beautiful in all its designs -- free lockers to provided to store belongings while exploring the museum -- super friendly staff both at check-in and throughout the museum -- I'm a big fan of observation towers and a portion of this museum's displays are located in one of the buildings original towers which provides some unique (indoor) views -- some of the technology used in some displays provided a "wow" factor; really amazing //SUMMARY: I am an English-speaking tourist and I visited for free using the Swiss Travel Pass. I spent about 2.5 hours at the museum. There is so much eye candy at this museum... fascinating displays around every corner. Highly recommended.
Concepcion Andrade (2 years ago)
We got free entrance thanks to the Swiss travel pass. We went there on Sunday and there was no queue and it was not necessary to book tickets. There are lockers and toilets. There’s also a cafe. The museum is very nice. It’s attractive for all ages. Our visit lasted 2 hours but could have been more. There’s a nice gift shop too.
Cyle Coles (2 years ago)
Great way to spend three hours. The history of Switzerland exhibit is fascinating. I was fortunate enough to see the Anne Frank exhibit as well. There is an original copy of her diary. I also learned that her Uncle (Otto I think) had to redact some of the details that were deemed too graphic for readers. Entry is free with the Swiss Pass, which was an added bonus.
Igor Matias (2 years ago)
The contents of the permanent exhibition are great, and very well documented. There are many technologies to help us understanding the history of the country in detail without getting bored. Nonetheless, the self guiding across the different rooms that make the time sequence is sometimes hard. Most of the times the best option is to try all rooms and then see which one is first. The price is adequate for the contents of the entire museum. The architecture of the museum by its own is already worth the visit. You should definitely spend at least 2 hours here when visiting the city.
Julie Francis (2 years ago)
Beautiful building housing this small museum. Didn't take long to go round but the inside is as beautiful as the outside especially the great hall, the whole building has game of thrones vibes and from outside the old and new architecture blend sharp their shapes edges against the blue sky.
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