Historisches Museum Basel

Om museet

The origins of the Historisches Museum Basel lie in the Amerbach Cabinet, a 16th-century cabinet of curiosities belonging to the Basel Amerbach family, which also included paintings by Hans Holbein. The university took it over in 1661, and it was open to the public from 1671. In 1849 the city’s collections were united in the new museum building on Augustinergasse; in 1856 the Medieval Collection was created as the direct predecessor of today’s museum. In 1892 the combined collection was given the name “Historisches Museum”, and it has borne its present name since 1916.

On 21 April 1894 the museum opened in the comprehensively renovated Barfüsserkirche, one of the city’s most important architectural monuments; this date is considered the birth of the museum as a public institution. In the 20th century further sites were added: in 1951 the Haus zum Kirschgarten as a museum of Basel domestic culture, in 1957 the musical instrument collection, which since the turn of the millennium, after a move, has been housed in the former remand prison at the Lohnhof. The Carriage Museum in Brüglingen, opened in 1981, closed in 2017.

Today the museum operates three buildings with one shared ticket. The Barfüsserkirche shows Basel history from archaeology through the Minster Treasure and the Dance of Death to the present, the Haus zum Kirschgarten shows middle-class domestic life of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Museum of Music houses the largest collection of musical instruments in Switzerland. The collection comprises around 435,000 objects and was fully recorded in 2025 through a five-year general inventory.

Højdepunkter

• Barfüsserkirche with the Minster Treasure, the Basel Dance of Death and medieval tapestries
• Renaissance cabinet of curiosities and the archaeology of Basel
• Haus zum Kirschgarten: town palace of 1775–1780 with domestic culture, clocks and toys
• Museum of Music with 550 instruments in 24 former prison cells
• One ticket is valid for seven days for all three buildings

Permanente udstillinger

• Barfüsserkirche – Basler Geschichte – Archaeological finds, the Minster Treasure, the Basel Dance of Death, medieval tapestries and the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities in the Barfüsserkirche.
• Haus zum Kirschgarten – Basler Wohnkultur – Interiors, clocks, scientific instruments, faience, toys and dolls’ houses in a town palace from the late 18th century.
• Musikmuseum – 550 European instruments from five centuries in 24 former prison cells, including the oldest long trumpets in the world.

Grundlagt

1894

Ejer

Kanton Basel-Stadt (Präsidialdepartement)

Ledelse

Marc Zehntner

Entrépriser & rabatter

Gratis entré: Happy Day: free admission on the first Sunday of every month (except public holidays); Happy Hour: free admission during the last opening hour (except on Sundays and public holidays and except in the special exhibition of the Barfüsserkirche).

The ticket is valid for seven days for the Barfüsserkirche, Haus zum Kirschgarten and the Museum of Music. According to the museum, free admission also applies to members of the Verein für das HMB, ICOM/VMS members, holders of the Museums-PASS-Musées, the Swiss Museum Pass and Colourkey, as well as refugees and asylum seekers (permit B/F/N/S).

Tilgængelighed

• Delvis kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt: ingen oplysninger
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

Barfüsserkirche: detour around the steps in front of the museum, lift to all relevant parts of the building except the rearmost part of the church, two free loan wheelchairs, disabled parking on Barfüssergasse. Haus zum Kirschgarten: threshold at the entrance, numerous stairs, no lift and not wheelchair accessible. Museum of Music: lift to all levels except the cloakroom on lower level 1, wheelchair-accessible toilet on the 3rd floor, two special wheelchairs for the narrow exhibition cells.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Interaktive stationer

Family tours, children’s studios (e.g. “Wondrous Things” in the Barfüsserkirche, music studio in the Museum of Music, Wednesdays 2–5 pm with no fixed start time) and craft workshops; children under 13 have free admission.

Transport & parkering

The three buildings are located in Basel’s old town within walking distance of each other.

Service & spisesteder

• Museumsbutik
• Garderobe

One museum shop each in the Barfüsserkirche, the Haus zum Kirschgarten and the Museum of Music.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Private fester
• Firmaarrangementer

Op til 300 personer.

Nave of the Barfüsserkirche (lectures up to 200, standing reception up to 300 people), seminar room, Red Room in the Museum of Music (up to 50), garden, pavilion and foyer in the Haus zum Kirschgarten; enquiries to vermietung.hmb@bs.ch. Wedding photo shoots in the Haus zum Kirschgarten possible for a flat fee.

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