Rietberg Museum

Zürich, Switzerland

The Rietberg Museum in Zürich displays Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the only art museum of non-European cultures in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the largest to be run by the city itself.

The Rietberg Museum is situated in the Rieterpark in central Zürich, and consists of several historic buildings: the Wesendonck Villa, the Remise (or 'Depot'), the Rieter Park-Villa, and the Schönberg Villa. In 2007 a new building designed by Alfred Grazioli and Adolf Krischanitz was opened – the addition of this largely subterranean building, known as 'Smaragd', more than doubled the museum's exhibition space.

In the early 1940s the city of Zürich purchased the Rieterpark and the Wesendonck Villa. In 1949 the Wesendonck Villa was selected, by referendum, to be rebuilt into a museum for the Baron Eduard von der Heydt's art collection, which he had donated to the city in 1945. This was carried out in 1951-52 under the architect Alfred Gradmann. The Rietberg Museum was opened on 24 May 1952. Until 1956 the director was Johannes Itten, the Swiss expressionist painter.

In 1976 the city acquired the Schönberg Villa, which had been threatened with demolition, and opened it in 1978 as an extension of the museum. Today the Villa is also home to an extensive non-lending library administrated by the museum.

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Address

Gablerstrasse 15, Zürich, Switzerland
See all sites in Zürich

Details

Founded: 1952
Category: Museums in Switzerland

More Information

www.rietberg.ch
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

xenCH (19 months ago)
A beautiful old building and museum.. one of the most stunning views up there aswell!
Zuzana Borsikova (21 months ago)
There is a beautiful calm park belonging to the museum with nice views on the lake and the city. The museum itself is very well structured and organized, the regular ticket for an adult costs 18 Chf. The part dedicated to Buddhism is not only informative but also interactive, it is pleasant to watch kids and adults to play a game. The Café was really crowded, but is was Sunday afternoon so it didn't surprise me. The other building which is the old Villa is home to another exposition, rather small, because just the first floor is open for visitors at the moment. I recommend visiting Museum Rietberg to everyone.
Ondřej Švec (21 months ago)
I was surprised how large the museum actually is, it has several underground levels! I recommend to tag along for a free guided tour on Sundays.
JOSHUA KAUFFMAN (21 months ago)
World class, compact global ethnography museum in well-designed subterranean structure atop a charming park. Recommended.
bryonypickup (2 years ago)
Glass building and underground layers make for an interesting museum. It also has a lovely park surrounding and a very nice cafe.
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