BIBEL+ORIENT Museum

About the museum

The idea for a museum arose in 1999, when important pieces from the collection of the Biblical Institute of the University of Fribourg were shown for the first time in a display case in the Ehrenhalle. A museum project in the Heinrichsturm initially failed because of the high costs. Instead, a team led by Thomas Staubli tried out museum operations with travelling exhibitions, such as "In the Shadow of Your Wings" on animals in the Bible and the ancient Near East, or "Solomon's Temple", which were shown in many museums in Switzerland and abroad.

In 2004 the association "Projekt BIBEL+ORIENT" was founded, and in 2005 the canton of Fribourg, the university and the association established the BIBEL+ORIENT foundation. On 5 November 2005 the university set up a first exhibition cabinet; in 2007 a storage facility followed at the Miséricorde university building. On 20 October 2014 the museum was officially inaugurated in its present rooms at the university.

The collection comprises around 15,000 objects, including amulets, cylinder seals, coins, ceramics, bronze statuettes, ivories, cuneiform clay tablets, around 500 unpublished papyri and several manuscripts. With its scarabs it ranks, after the collections in Cairo and London, among the largest in the world. The permanent exhibition "From Gods to God" leads from about 10,000 BC in the Levant to the Roman period.

Highlights

• One of the largest scarab collections in the world
• Permanent exhibition "From Gods to God" from the Neolithic to the Roman period
• Cylinder seals, amulets, coins, papyri and Torah scrolls
• Children's corner with memory game and drawing materials (Wednesdays)
• Free "Tour of the Month" every last Sunday

Permanent exhibition

• Von Göttern zu Gott – A journey from about 10,000 BC in the Levant to the Roman period: how people interpreted gods, nature and death, and how the three Abrahamic religions arose, with a focus on ancient Judea.

Founded

2005

Operated by

Stiftung BIBEL+ORIENT (Universität Freiburg)

Admission & discounts

Free admission also with VMS, ICOM, Kultur-GA and KulturLegi cards.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Playground / play area

The children's corner in the "700 Scarabs" room is available every Wednesday from 2 to 5 pm (memory game "Egyptian Amulets", lotto, drawing sheets, magnetic game); children must be accompanied by adults. There is also a seal and amulet workshop.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Miséricorde university building, accessed via Ruelle Laure-Dupraz.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit