Bern Historical Museum

Bern Historical Museum
German: Bernisches Historisches Museum
French: Musée d’Histoire de Berne
The Museum entrance on Helvetiaplatz
Location within Bern
Bern Historical Museum (Canton of Bern)
Bern Historical Museum (Switzerland)
Established1894 (1894)
LocationHelvetiaplatz, Bern, Switzerland
Coordinates46°56′35″N 7°26′57″E / 46.94306°N 7.44917°E / 46.94306; 7.44917
TypeHistory
Collection size500,000
DirectorJakob Messerli
ArchitectAndré Lambert
Websitewww.bhm.ch

The Bern Historical Museum (German: Bernisches Historisches Museum, French: Musée d’Histoire de Berne) is the second largest historical museum in Switzerland. It was designed by the Neuchâtel 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.