french: Musée d’Histoire de Berne , image = Historic museum Bern1.jpg , image_upright = , alt = , caption = The Museum entrance on Helvetiaplatz , map_type = Switzerland Bern downtown#Canton of Bern#Switzerland , map_relief = , map_size = , map_caption = , coordinates = , former_name = , established = , dissolved = , location = Helvetiaplatz,

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, type =

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, accreditation = , key_holdings = , collections = , collection_size = 500,000 , visitors = , founder = , executive_director = , leader_type = , leader = , director = Jakob Messerli , president = , ceo = , chairperson = , curator = , architect = André Lambert , historian = , owner = , publictransit = , car_park = , parking = , network = , website = , embedded = Bern Historical Museum entrance gates

The Bern Historical Museum (german: Bernisches Historisches Museum, french: Musée d’Histoire de Berne) is the second largest historical museum in

. It was designed by the

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (Fra ...

architect André Lambert and built in 1894. Since it was initially conceived as the Swiss National Museum (which the city of Zurich was later chosen to host), the architect took as his model various historic castles from the 15th and 16th centuries. An extension to the original museum building was completed in 2009. The museum contains collections related to the history of

from prehistoric times to the present and other artefacts on permanent display from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. One of the most remarkable items in the collection is the

Muri statuette group The Muri statuette group is a group of six Gallo-Roman bronze figurines found in 1832 in Muri bei Bern, Switzerland. The group includes representations of the gods Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Naria, Artio and of a Lar. The ensemble includes the o ...

, a group of six Gallo-Roman bronze figurines. The Bern Historical Museum is a heritage site of national significance. Over the museum's entrance is a glass

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

, "The Age of History", featuring the figures of Poetry and History, made in 1900 by the Swiss painter

Léo-Paul Robert Léo-Paul Samuel Robert (19 March 1851 - 10 September 1923), also known as Paul Robert, was a Swiss painter, known for his depictions of birds and other wildlife. Early life Paul Robert was born in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, on 19 March 185 ...

Einstein Museum

First conceived as a temporary exhibition in 2005, the Einstein Museum became a museum dedicated to the life and work of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

, who developed the

Relativity Theory The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena ...

while living in Bern. The house where he lived (

Einsteinhaus The Einsteinhaus (Einstein House) is a museum and a former residence of Albert Einstein. It is located on Kramgasse No. 49 in Bern, Switzerland. A flat on the second floor of the house was occupied by Einstein, his wife Mileva Marić, and their ...

) in this period is also open to the public, but is located elsewhere in the city and charges separate entry fees.

Footnotes

External links

Historical Museum of BernThe Einstein house
{{Authority control History museums in Switzerland Museums in Bern Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern