The Museum Rietberg is one of the largest art museums in Switzerland and is administered by the City of Zurich. With a focus on traditional and contemporary arts and cultures of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, it has some 23,000 objects and 37,000 ethnographic photographs in its collection. Most of the objects are on public display, either in the museum’s galleries or in its open storeroom.

In 1945, the City of Zurich bought the 67,000 square metres of the Rieterpark and the Villa Wesendonck. Then in 1949, the people of Zurich approved the plan to convert the Villa Wesendonck into a museum and to establish, at the same time, the Museum Rietberg. In 1952, the new museum finally opened its doors to the public. The complex consists of three nineteenth-century villas and a coach house, not to mention a recent underground extension opened in 2007.

The work of the Museum Rietberg is characterised by a high degree of professionalism, social inclusion, and diversity. The Museum aims to heighten awareness of the artistic achievements of individuals alongside those brought about by religious and social diversity. In so doing, it fulfils an important cultural mission in our increasingly globalised world.

Furthermore, the Museum’s first-rate collection of international renown requires expert care, continuous academic study, including provenance research, while being actively expanded and managed. The institution ensures the transparency of the results of its research by making them largely available online.

The Museum Rietberg possesses both local and international connections with cultural institutions, collectors, and specialists in a variety of fields. It pursues a policy of long-term cooperation with countries of origin including Cameroon, India, Pakistan, and Peru.

Address(es)
Gablerstrasse 15
8002 Zurich
T +41 44 415 31 31
museum.rietberg@zuerich.ch

www.rietberg.ch

Curator for Middle-Eastern Art
Axel Langer
T +41 44 415 31 25
axel.langer@zuerich.ch