Two Freiburg museums celebrate their 200th anniversary
Published: Sunday, May 26th 2024, 10:30
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The Museum of Natural History (MHNF) and the Museum of Art and History (MAHF) in Freiburg are celebrating their bicentenary this year. Each institution has developed its own exhibition to mark the anniversary. Events are being held to celebrate their shared history.
When the canon Charles-Aloyse Fontaine donated his extensive collection to the State of Fribourg, he was not only the founder of the Museum of Art and History (MAHF), but also of the Museum of Natural History (MHNF). The foundations of the two cantonal museums were thus laid in 1824.
The institutions were initially housed at the same location, on the premises of today's Kollegium St. Michael, which at the time housed Freiburg's first museum. The two museums were separated in 1849, as the MHNF announced a few days ago, looking back on its rich history.
Exhibition of the MHNF
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the MHNF, 100 people have posed with their favorite object from the museum's collections and told why this object is important to them. Using original photographs and texts written on the basis of interviews, the public can discover 100 testimonies that reflect what the museum is all about.
The portraits of these people with their favorite object and the memories they associate with it can be seen in the exhibition "100+100, 200 years of history in 100 unpublished duets" and in a book of the same name.
The MHNF attracts an average of 65,000 visitors per year, making it one of the most visited museums in Switzerland. The exhibition about the encounter between the scientific collections and the people for whom they are important opened on May 17 and will run until February 9, 2025. Last June, the Swiss people approved a loan of 65.5 million francs for the MHMF.
Exhibition at the MAHF
The MAHF exhibition is entitled "Le Musée qui ne voulait pas mourir" (The museum that didn't want to die) and, from 17 May to 22 September, explores the concept of memory and the relationship of the population to objects and works of art and their contextualization.
According to the museum, it offers a quiet space that encourages introspection and reflection. At the same time, it is also a place for encounters, debates and exchanges.
In September, the MAHF and the MHNF, in collaboration with St. Michael's College, are organizing a weekend of celebrations with a special day at the college on Saturday, 14 September, as well as several events in the museums on Sunday, 15 September.
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