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Museum der Kulturen Basel

Art
History and tradition
Basel
Switzerland
Museum der Kulturen Basel
Museum der Kulturen Basel
Das Museum ist in die Altstadt eingebettet
The Museum der Kulturen Basel ranks among the leading ethnographic museums in Europe. The Museum's world-renowned collection numbers more than 340,000 objects, around 300,000 photos, 400 films and sound recordings. In order to regularly display and reposition collection pieces, the Museum organizes, in addition to its two permanent exhibitions, a number of special exhibitions each year with a focus on current as well as more general topics that shed light on the variety and diversity of cultural manifestations across the world. Visitors thus get to see the world with different eyes.
Address

Museum der Kulturen Basel

Münsterplatz 20
4051
Basel
Switzerland
+41 61 266 56 00
Opening hours
Open all year
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00-17:00

Closed on
1st Wednesday of the month: until 8.00 pm

Exhibition "The Carnival of Basel":
Thu – Sat: 1.00 – 5.00 pm
Sun: 11.00 am – 5.00 pm

47.557224, 7.590655

Zwei Hände spielen auf einer grauen Flöte.
Basel
Travelling Ears

Sounds and listening environments have the power to take us back to other times; in particular, they remind us of special events in life and shape our sense of home. In a special audio exhibition ...

Exhibition
Auf einem weissen Tisch steht ein braunes Gefäss, das mit dicken Schnüren umwickelt ist. Es wird von zwei Personen, von denen man nur die Hände sieht, gefilmt.
Basel
Dambana, Sri Lanka

Various research projects are underway at the Museum der Kulturen Basel. From May 2024, work on these will be carried out regularly live in front of visitors in the Hedi Keller Hall. Employees from ...

Exhibition
Auf einem Tisch liegen verschiedene Gegenstände. Im Hintergrund ist ein Strohhut zu sehen. Vor ihm liegt ein Etui aus Stroh. Daneben liegen zwei stabähnliche  Objekte aus dunklem Holz. Weitere Gegenstände liegen in Schachteln.
Basel
Hiva Oa, French Polynesia

Various research projects are underway at the Museum der Kulturen Basel. From May 2024, work on these will be carried out regularly live in front of visitors in the Hedi Keller Hall. Employees from ...

Exhibition
Auf einem roten Baum mit dickem Stamm und zwei dicken Ästen, an denen grosse grüne Blätter und gelbe Früchte und gelbe, orange und blaue Blüten hängen, liegt eine orange Schlange mit schwarzen Punkten. Darunter stehen zwei Figuren, eine Frau und ein Mann, beide mit langen schwarzen Haaren.
Basel
Tree of life

Trees are amongst the oldest living beings on earth. They join the heavens and earth, and serve as inspiration for stories and art. Beyond our narrow, anthropocentric view, trees are intelligent ...

Exhibition
It is dark on the photo, on which one can see a brown, wooden, flat board hanging on ropes.
Basel
At night

Between dusk and dawn, the hours of darkness hold the promise of many different experiences for us: restful sleep, glittering parties, indispensable work or moments of menace. A daily occurrence, the ...

Exhibition
Maske aus dunkelbraunem Holz mit rötlichen Augen, gespaltener Nase, grossem leicht geöffnetem Mund, aus dem die Zunge links herausgestreckt ist. Anstatt Haare trägt die Maske einen Sack.
Basel
Twelve thousand items

Between 1900 and 1936, a collection of European ethnography began to take shape in the museum. Items of everyday life, as well as such pertaining to faith and festivities were assembled. Notably, not ...

Exhibition
The picture shows a detail of the lintels. You can see a relief with a snake on it.
Basel
Memory

Remembering and forgetting are ever-present features of life. The exhibition playfully reveals the manifold practices people rely on to recall specific moments in life, from birth to death, but also ...

Exhibition
Painted rain forest with various trees and plants under grey sky, one man is walking into the forest at the bottom of the picture.
Basel
Alive

The climate crisis poses a threat to the habitability of the Earth, and has prompted a rethink of the perspectives, networks, and interactions of human and non-human actors. How do we humans perceive ...

Exhibition
Ein Waggis in traditionellem Kostüm und mit Larve steht in einer Tür. Dahinter sieht man ein Larvenatelier
Basel
Basel Carnival

Set in historical rooms, the Museum offers a colourful overview of the world-famous Basel carnival – ranging from costumes, lanterns, masks, and musical instruments, to historical documents and a ...

Exhibition