Basel Historical Museum – Barfüsserkirche

Basel
Switzerland
Glaubenswelten des Mittelalters. © Historisches Museum Basel, Foto: Natascha Jansen
Glaubenswelten des Mittelalters. © Historisches Museum Basel, Foto: Natascha Jansen
Glaubenswelten des Mittelalters. © Historisches Museum Basel, Foto: Natascha Jansen
History and tradition
The Basel Historical Museum with its three sites is widely regarded as the most important museum of cultural history on the Upper Rhine. It collects, conserves, records and researches objects and artefacts of relevance to our cultural heritage for future generations, tells visitors the story of Basel, and is a place for discourse and engagement with both present and future.
The Basel Historical Museum, housed in the Barfüsserkirche since 1894, shows selected aspects of the history of Basel from prehistoric times to the present. The focus of the exhibits from the pre-Reformation period is on sacred works of art such as the Basel Dance of Death and Basel Cathedral Treasury. The exhibition in the basement, headed “Understanding the World”, comprises a magnificent array of medieval tapestries with their fantasy worlds and scenes of real life, the Renaissance and Baroque collections, now grouped together in one “Great Cabinet of Curiosities”, and Basel’s rich archaeological heritage. Among the other highlights are the coin cabinet and the Burgundian Booty.

47.554526, 7.589333

Address

Basel Historical Museum – Barfüsserkirche

Barfüsserplatz 7
4051
Basel
Switzerland
Opening hours
Open all year from
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00-17:00

Closed on
Contact and additional information
+41 61 205 86 00

Currently and upcoming

BK
Event

The presentation of the coins provides an insight into the pre-modern financial world and the form and function of money. Their production can be traced in the goldsmith's and coin workshop. Medals ...

BK
Event

In Basel, we literally stand on our past. Basel's development from Celtic city to episcopal seat.

BK
Event

Since the 16th century, scientists and collectors have been creating spectacular chambers of art and curiosities. Even today, the collections reflect the urge for knowledge of the world and the world ...

BK
Event

In Basel, we literally stand on our past. Basel's development from Celtic city to episcopal seat.

HMB
Event

The whimsical and wonderful world of Renaissance reed instruments. From Michael Praetorius' "Theatrum Instrumentorum" brought to life with Pommern, Bassanelli, Dulzianen, Douçainen, Ranketten and ...

BK
Event

One of the worst-kept secrets of Elizabethan England was the unlawful Catholic faith of the composer of the Chapel Royal, William Byrd. Under Protestant rule, Byrd almost literally played with fire ...

Medieval Worlds of Faith
Exhibition
-

Showcased here will be medieval works of art from churches in Switzerland and on the Upper Rhine. The impressive sculptures attesting to the veneration of saints are a reminder of how society was ...

Zeitsprünge – Basler Geschichte in Kürze
Exhibition
-

Around 200,000 people from 200 nations live in Basel. The city forms the centre of a large tri-national region with a long history. The ‘Zeitsprünge’ exhibition offers highlights of the events and ...