SWISS MUSEUMS
Museums are marvelous places to visit. Not only do they link us to the past, they also give us a sense of who we are as a people, and perhaps suggest where our future lies. After all, history has a tendency to repeat itself. While visiting foreign destinations we are at times drawn to visit well-known museums such as the Louvre in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, or the Prado in Madrid. More often our focus is on sights, outdoor activities, and of course on culinary pursuits. Switzerland being such a beautiful country is such a destination.
Whether you are an art lover, a history buff, a collector of artifacts, or simply like to learn new things, with over 900 museums, Switzerland will have one you can visit to address your interests. Some of the museums are quite small like the Einstein Haus in Bern where he lived in 1903. Others like the Kunstmuseum in Basel offers the largest publicly accessible art collection in Switzerland. We have in the course of past “Spotlights” visited a number of Switzerland’s museums. We’ll introduce you to a few more to pique your interest for your next visit. Of course, don’t forget to look around you when touring through Switzerland’s villages, towns, & old cities. In many respects, they are living museums.
We’ll first return to the City of Basel where we introduced you to Jean Tinguely the well-known avant-garde sculptor who was fascinated with machines that moved. His “Carnival Fountain” usually referred to as ”The Tinguely Fountain” is a great example of his work. For a closer look at his many “sculptural machines” set a couple of hours aside for a visit to his museum. For a more traditional museum, especially if you are travelling with younger children, a visit to Basel’s Toys World Museum is a must. It features over 6000 dolls, teddy bears, and a wide variety of other toys making it the largest museum of its kind in Europe.
One of the most visited museums in Switzerland is the “Landesmuseum” located just a few steps from Zûrich’s main train station. It covers the history of Switzerland going back to pre-historic times to the present offering a wide range of both permanent & temporary exhibits. If you are not an enthusiast of traditional museums, we have another option for you- especially if you love Swiss chocolates. YES! A visit to Lindt’s Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg, just outside of Zûrich, will change your attitude toward museums forever.
There is one more museum we want to introduce before we leave you. Located on the shores of the Lake Neuchâtel, the Museum Etavayer-le-Lac features an exhibit depicting life in the 19th century. What makes it unusual, is that it is represented by a collection of 108 stuffed frogs in human postures. We’ll leave you now, but will come back in the future with another “Spotlight” on Swiss museums.
Checkout the videos & web sites by clicking on the various highlighted links above.
Museums are marvelous places to visit. Not only do they link us to the past, they also give us a sense of who we are as a people, and perhaps suggest where our future lies. After all, history has a tendency to repeat itself. While visiting foreign destinations we are at times drawn to visit well-known museums such as the Louvre in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, or the Prado in Madrid. More often our focus is on sights, outdoor activities, and of course on culinary pursuits. Switzerland being such a beautiful country is such a destination.
Whether you are an art lover, a history buff, a collector of artifacts, or simply like to learn new things, with over 900 museums, Switzerland will have one you can visit to address your interests. Some of the museums are quite small like the Einstein Haus in Bern where he lived in 1903. Others like the Kunstmuseum in Basel offers the largest publicly accessible art collection in Switzerland. We have in the course of past “Spotlights” visited a number of Switzerland’s museums. We’ll introduce you to a few more to pique your interest for your next visit. Of course, don’t forget to look around you when touring through Switzerland’s villages, towns, & old cities. In many respects, they are living museums.
We’ll first return to the City of Basel where we introduced you to Jean Tinguely the well-known avant-garde sculptor who was fascinated with machines that moved. His “Carnival Fountain” usually referred to as ”The Tinguely Fountain” is a great example of his work. For a closer look at his many “sculptural machines” set a couple of hours aside for a visit to his museum. For a more traditional museum, especially if you are travelling with younger children, a visit to Basel’s Toys World Museum is a must. It features over 6000 dolls, teddy bears, and a wide variety of other toys making it the largest museum of its kind in Europe.
One of the most visited museums in Switzerland is the “Landesmuseum” located just a few steps from Zûrich’s main train station. It covers the history of Switzerland going back to pre-historic times to the present offering a wide range of both permanent & temporary exhibits. If you are not an enthusiast of traditional museums, we have another option for you- especially if you love Swiss chocolates. YES! A visit to Lindt’s Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg, just outside of Zûrich, will change your attitude toward museums forever.
There is one more museum we want to introduce before we leave you. Located on the shores of the Lake Neuchâtel, the Museum Etavayer-le-Lac features an exhibit depicting life in the 19th century. What makes it unusual, is that it is represented by a collection of 108 stuffed frogs in human postures. We’ll leave you now, but will come back in the future with another “Spotlight” on Swiss museums.
Checkout the videos & web sites by clicking on the various highlighted links above.
