Swiss National Museum

Swiss National Museum - A large museum in Switzerland ’s largest city, Zürich , whose main section is the permanent historical exhibition. As this includes several elements that can be considered dark chapters of history, it is included here. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The Swiss were comparatively late in establishing a national museum. Unlike in many other, more centralized European countries, the idea was greeted less enthusiastically in Switzerland with its high degree of federal fragmentation into semi-autonomous ‘cantons’. But after some personal pushing for the idea by a member of the National Council the idea began to be seriously discussed in the 1880s and in 1891 the location of the future museum in Zürich was decided on and an architectural design drafted Architect Gustav Gull came up with a highly historicizing type of architecture incorporating several hints towards medieval styles as well as 19th-century state-of-the-art elements. The building was completed in 1898. The exhibition inside has been updated repeatedly and now covers Swiss history almost up to the present day. In 2016, a new wing of starkly modern design to contrast with the historicist main building was opened to house in particular temporary extra exhibitions, a library and an auditorium. What there is to see: The museum covers all of Swiss history, but from a dark-tourism perspective only parts of the 20th century and contemporary sections are of special interest. And in the text below I will concentrate entirely on those, ignoring all earlier history.