To celebrate its 125th anniversary, the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum) will be opening its doors to the public for free this weekend. Alongside the regular exhibitions, visitors to the museum in Zurich will be given sneak peeks into how the building is run, alongside special concerts and tours in English.
In a statement, the Landesmuseum confirmed that on June 10 and 11, they will be opening up the museum to all for free. The event has been put on to commemorate 125 years since the museum first opened, providing “an occasion to look back on the museum's eventful past and at the same time to cast a glance into the future”, organisers wrote.
The Landesmuseum, housed inside an 1890s château right next to Zurich Main Station, was designed by the government to be "Switzerland's national museum", dedicated to telling the story of the Swiss people from pre-historic times to today. Alongside a series of temporary events, the museum's permanent features document the natural, personal, financial and political history of Switzerland through artefacts, visualisations and engaging interactive exhibits.
Along with free entry, the Landesmuseum will be putting on a number of exciting events in English. First, English-speaking guided tours of the museum will be offered which will explain topics in greater detail and provide some sneak peeks into how the museum creates its exhibits.
The English language tours will be based on topics ranging from the history of women’s suffrage and rights in Switzerland (June 10, 1.30pm) and the history of Zurich itself (June 10, 3.30pm and June 11, 4pm), to showing submissions for Swiss Press Photographer of the Year (June 10, 7.30pm) and an introductory talk on the Swiss government and constitution (June 11, noon).
Then, in one-and-a-half-hour segments from 11am to 7.30pm on June 10 and 10.30am to 4.30pm on June 11, visitors will have a chance to participate in an embroidery class guided by a team of experts. Face painting and glitter tattoos will also be on offer on June 11, as well as a number of other fun activities.
Finally, the climax of the weekend will occur at 8.45pm on June 10 in the garden courtyard, when Swiss music star Marius Bear is slated to perform. The winner of a Swiss Music Award and Eurovision finalist in 2022 will rock the stage in what is set to be a magical event open to all.
For more information about the event, and to see what other things are happening on the weekend, check out the official website.
Thumb image credit: Shutterstock.com / Yanisa C