Kanton Basel-Stadt Präsidialdepartement

Basel Museum Services

Basel Museum Services are involved in the strategic development of the museums, and are responsible for their overall communication as well as for their co-ordination and marketing. They render central services for the museums within the Canton and its immediate environs. They do this primarily for the city museums, although where effective and possible they also integrate institutions run by other or private bodies. Further information under www.museenbasel.ch/de/museumsdienste.php.

State Archive

The Basel-Stadt State Archive is responsible for preserving the records of the public administration and affiliated organisations, and makes historical, political and social developments comprehensible and transparent through these sources. Selected private archives, collections of images and plans as well as film and audio documents supplement this veritable cultural treasure-trove. These documents cover 1000 years of history from the Middle Ages to the present day, and are available to the public for research. Further information under www.staatsarchiv.bs.ch.

Archaeological Ground Research

The Archaeological Ground Research Unit is a cantonal body which works to safeguard and protect the archaeological heritage of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The ground is an depositary in which evidence of human activities have been preserved from ancient times to the present day. It is important that this cultural heritage be preserved. The Archaeological Ground Research Unit keeps the public regularly informed about its findings pertaining to city and cantonal history. Further information under www.archaeobasel.ch.

The Basel Museum of Ancient Art and the Ludwig Collection

The Museum of Ancient Art traditionally focused on the classical art of Greece and Rome. It has however been extended to include a department of Egyptian art as well as a hall dedicated to the relations between Greece and the Orient. The Basel Museum of Ancient Art is the only Swiss museum which has successfully brought together four of the major antique cultures of the Mediterranean region: Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman. Highlights include an outstanding collection of Greek vases and sculptures as well as an exquisite collection of small Egyptian works of art from various epochs. Further information under www.antikenmuseumbasel.ch.

Historical Museum of Basel

The Historical Museum of Basel, which is housed in four separate buildings, ranks amongst the most important museums of cultural history on the Upper Rhine. The permanent exhibition in Barfüsser Church has been rearranged to highlight various aspects of the city’s history from mediaeval times to the present. Highlights are ecclesiastical works of art from the pre-Reformation period, including the Basler Dance of Death and the Basel Minster Treasury. Further information under www.hmb.ch.

Kunstmuseum Basel

Kunstmuseum Basel specialises in paintings and drawings by Upper Rhine artists from 1400 to 1600 as well as the art of the 19th to 21st centuries. The museum possesses the world’s largest collection of works by the Holbein family. The Renaissance collection includes works by Cranach the Elder and Grünewald. Paintings by Böcklin, van Gogh and Cézanne feature in the 19th century collection. The focal points of the 20th century on display are Cubism, German Expressionism and American art since 1950. Further information under www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch.

Ethnological Museum of Basel

The Ethnological Museum was founded in 1849 to hold the treasures which researchers, travellers and merchants brought back to Basel from around the world. From the early 20th century onwards the collections have also been augmented by dedicated expeditions. As the largest Swiss museum of its kind, the Ethnological Museum possesses around 300,000 items as well as a similar number of historical photographs, including the collections of the former Swiss Museum of Ethnology. Further information under www.mkb.ch.