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Haus zum Kirschgarten: Outside view
Basel Historical Museum

HAUS ZUM KIRSCHGARTEN

 

All opening hours and prices

Haus zum Kirschgarten: View of the Cabinet of Miniatures
Basel Historical Museum

HAUS ZUM KIRSCHGARTEN

 

All opening hours and prices

Haus zum Kirschgarten: View of the Grey Room
Basel Historical Museum

HAUS ZUM KIRSCHGARTEN

 

All opening hours and prices

Haus zum Kirschgarten was built for the silk ribbon manufacturer and army colonel Johann Rudolf Burckhardt between 1775 and 1780.

The architect Johann Ulrich Büchel designed a mansion worthy of his client's wealth and status which is also a tour de force of early Neoclassical style, influenced in part by Masonic concepts. The mansion has been a museum of domestic culture since 1951. Most of the interior is devoted to 18th- and 19th-century period rooms formerly inhabited by Basel’s affluent bourgeoisie. But the museum also houses several special collections and hosts mini-exhibitions, such as that on Sheikh Ibrahim.

History of the Haus zum Kirschgarten

Christmas spirit at the Haus zum Kirschgarten – Seasonal exhibition

The Haus zum Kirschgarten enriches the pre-Christmas season with surprises for young and old.

Museum Hunt – Missing Treasures

Embark on an exciting quest for missing treasures on behalf of a British family member. Can you solve the puzzle?

Sheik Ibrahim – A Basel Sheikh in the Orient

The Basel Historical Museum is honouring the famous explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784–1817), who as «Sheikh Ibrahim» travelled all over the Near East, with an extensively revised and expanded edition of a biography that has long been…

Opening hours

 

Special opening hours:

Advent season
December 12, 2023
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Advent season
December 19, 2023
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2023
Sunday: closed

Christmas Day
December 25, 2023
Monday: closed

Boxing Day
December 26, 2023
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

New Year's Eve
December 31, 2023
Sunday: open

New Year's Day
January 1, 2024
Monday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Fasnacht Monday
February 19, 2024
Monday: closed

Fasnacht Tuesday
February 20, 2024
Tuesday: closed

Fasnacht Wednesday
February 21, 2024
Wednesday: closed

Maundy Thursday
March 28, 2024
Thursday: open

Good Friday
March 29, 2024
Friday: open

Easter Sunday
March 31, 2024
Sunday: open

Easter Monday
April 1, 2024
Monday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Labour Day
May 1, 2024
Wednesday: closed

Ascension Day
May 9, 2024
Thursday: open

Whit Sunday
May 19, 2024
Sunday: open

Whit Monday
May 20, 2024
Monday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Swiss National Day
August 1, 2024
Thursday: open

Advent season
December 3, 2024
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Advent season
December 10, 2024
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Advent season
December 17, 2024
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2024
Tuesday: closed

Christmas Day
December 25, 2024
Wednesday: closed

Boxing Day
December 26, 2024
Thursday: open

New Year's Eve
December 31, 2024
Tuesday: 11 AM to 5 PM

New Year's Day
January 1, 2025
Wednesday: open

More dates
Less dates

Admission

General admission fee

Adults CHF 10.– * 
Reduced rate: CHF 5.– *
Combi-Ticket for all three sites: CHF 20.– 
Combi-Ticket for all three sites, reduced rate: CHF 10.– *
Groups of 10 or more: CHF 8.–

* young people under 18 and up to 30 if still in education or training

Free admission

Happy Day: 1st Sunday of the month
Happy Hour: Last hour of the day (except Sundays & holidays)
Accompanying person of IV card holder
Children up to 13
Members of Association for Basel Historical Museum
Members of ICOM/VMS
Holders of Museums-PASS-Musées, Swiss Museum Pass or Colourkey

Surcharge for events

Selected events are subject to a surcharge of CHF 5.– in addition to admission fee.

Location and directions

A wide choice of tours

Museum Hunt

Haus zum Kirschgarten: Museum Hunt

Find your inner sleuth in the game «Museum Hunt – Missing Treasures».

Book now

eGuides

eGuide

Your electronic museum guide.

Further information

History of the Haus zum Kirschgarten

Haus zum Kirschgarten built between 1775 and 1780 marks the apogee of secular Louis-Seize architecture on the Upper Rhine. It is surprisingly ambitious for a merchant’s private house. The finely worked sandstone façade with its triaxial portico, the coach entrance with its paired columns, and the spacious hallway are among the most striking features of the building. Johann Rudolf Burckhardt-de-Bary, silk manufacturer and son-in-law of the mayor of Basel, was only 25 when he commissioned his new palace. The contract went to Ulrich Büchel-Fatio of Basel, an architect even younger than his client who was very interested in the latest architectural trends. Burckhardt was obliged to sell his fine new palace as early as 1797, after which it changed hands several times. Thus, by the time it became a museum (the decision was made in 1933, although the museum did not actually open until 1951) most of the original furnishings as well as the original room structure had been lost.

The building as it is today consequently gives us no more than a fragmentary impression of the palace’s erstwhile interior. The suite of stuccoed hallway, vestibule, and salon has been preserved, as has the first floor library and three rooms on the third floor. The latter comprise the green Panelled Room, the Burckhardt Bedroom, and the Rose Boudoir dating from 1780. Yet none of these rooms contain their original furnishings, which unfortunately were never documented.

The exhibition concept builds on that of Basel’s first museum of domestic life at the Segerhof. That merchant’s residence, which Miss Marie Burckhardt made over to the city – complete with contents – in 1923, was demolished in 1934. The interiors were not lost, however, and since the furnishings of the guest room, dining room, Grey Hall, and kitchen were well documented and typical of those belonging to a well-to-do Basel family, they were transferred either in part or in their entirety to the Haus zum Kirschgarten (all on the second floor).

 
Contact

Basel Historical Museum
Management & administration
Steinenberg 4
PO box
CH – 4001 Basel

Reception: +41 61 205 86 00
historisches.museum(at)bs.ch

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Open today from 10 AM to 5 PM
Open today from 11 AM to 5 PM
Open today from 11 AM to 5 PM
Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM
Wednesday to Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM
Wednesday to Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM