Swiss National Museum
The Swiss National Museum is a museum in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, adjacent to Zürich Hauptbahnhof and the Platzspitz park. It is part of the Musée Suisse Group, which is itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture.
Architecture
The museum building of 1898 in the historicist style was built by Gustav Gull in the form of the French Renaissance city chateaus. His impressive architecture with dozens of towers, courts and his astonishing park on a peninsula between the rivers Sihl and Limmat has become one of the main sights of the Old Town district of Zurich. Its inauguration was filmed by François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke, the first non-french concessionary of the Lumière brothers. Due to increasing space constraints, the museum was expanded between 2013 and 2016.
Exhibits
The exhibition tour takes the visitor from prehistory through ancient times and the Middle Ages to the 20th century. There is a very rich section with gothic art, chivalry and a comprehensive collection of liturgical wooden sculptures, panel paintings and carved altars. Zunfthaus zur Meisen near Fraumünster church houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum. There are also: a Collections Gallery, a place where Swiss furnishings are exhibited, an Armoury Tower, a diorama of the Battle of Murten, and a Coin Cabinet showing 14th, 15th, 16th century Swiss coins and even some coins from the Middle Ages.
Transport
The museum is located next to, Zurich's main railway station. In addition, boats of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft start their round trips on the Limmat at the Swiss National Museum. The closest tram/trolleybus stop is Bahnhofquai/HB.