Five Must-See Museums and Exhibitions in German-Speaking Switzerland

German-speaking Switzerland, the wealthiest region of the country, boasts a dense network of high-quality museums and art spaces. In Zurich's Fraumünster church, five stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall (installed 1970) and Augusto Giacometti's 'The Heavenly Paradise' (1920s) coexist within a former iconoclastic stronghold. Just across the German border from Basel, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein presents 'German Design 1949-1989: Two Countries, One History' (until 5 September 2021), contrasting West German economic miracle design with East German socialist production. The Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau mounts 'Swiss Sculpture from 1945' (until 26 September 2021), featuring 230 works by 150 artists including Urs Lüthi, Ugo Rondinone, Alberto Giacometti, and Pipilotti Rist, spilling into the adjacent municipal park. On the Eiger, a former electrical transformer station near Kleine Scheidegg houses a museum dedicated to climbers of the north face, with a carved pine model and stones engraved with the names of 69 fallen mountaineers. In Zermatt, the Matterhorn Museum's permanent exhibition 'New Perspectives' challenges conventional mountain narratives, marking 150 years since Lucy Walker became the first woman to summit the Matterhorn and 50 years since Swiss women gained the right to vote.