Museum für Geschichte

Basel


This flagship of three museums operating under the banner of 'Historisches Museum Basel' (Basel Historical Museum), which opened in 1894, is well worth a look. Its diverse historical collection is one of the largest of its kind in Switzerland, attractively housed under the vaulted ceilings of the former Barfüsserkirche, and showcasing two millennia of applied arts, ceramics, weaponry and more. Highlights include 15th-century 'dance of death' mural fragments and a well-preserved 16th-century choir stall.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Basel attractions

1. Barfüsserplatz

0.04 MILES

This bustling square is named after the barefoot Franciscan friars who founded the eponymous Barfüsserkirche (Barefooted Ones Church) here in the 14th…

2. Tinguely Brunnen

0.06 MILES

With its riot of wacky machines spewing and shooting forth water, this zany fountain offers a taste of the madcap moving sculptures to be found in the…

3. Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel

0.07 MILES

Adults and kids alike love this fascinating and lovingly curated fantasy land claiming the world’s biggest collection of teddy bears and a slew of…

4. Museum für Musik

0.1 MILES

This museum, featuring the nation's largest collection of musical instruments – a veritable orchestra – focuses on a period spanning five centuries and…

5. Antikenmuseum Basel

0.14 MILES

This multilevel museum contains Switzerland’s most comprehensive collection of ancient artefacts, dating from the heyday of the pharaohs in Egypt to Roman…

6. Münster

0.16 MILES

Blending Gothic exteriors with Romanesque interiors, this 13th-century cathedral was largely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1356. Renaissance humanist…

7. Kunstmuseum Basel

0.17 MILES

Housing the most comprehensive collection of public art in Switzerland, this superb fine arts museum reopened in mid-2016 after updates to the existing…

8. Museum für Wohnkultur

0.19 MILES

Housed in the beautiful Haus zum Kirschgarten building (1780), this lovely museum features two floors of the house with rooms laid out immaculately in the…