The permanent exhibition

Reason and Passion—an exhibition with tableaux vivants

«Reason and Passion», the permanent exhibition at Museum Bärengasse, focuses on people. What made the men and women who inhabited Zurich in the second half of the 18th century tick? What was their everyday life like? How did middle-class people think, feel and act in those days? In order to understand these people and convey their experiences, Museum Bärengasse presents a new picture of their era. Heretofore unknown journals, never before seen objects and elements of typical interiors have been assembled in one place for the first time and newly grouped, realistically and according to topic.

Experience Zurich in the old days

Just so it’s clear from the start: the exhibition does not feature any computer animation. Equipped with an audioguide, visitors go from room to room, getting acquainted with people from earlier days step by step.
This is a completely sensuous experience, with creaking floorboards, the scent of flowers, the play of colours, and a new private world contained in each room you enter. Authentic texts from the 18th century, read by actors, suggest the way the inhabitants of Zurich lived with and in such rooms and furnishings, and provide a travelogue for a journey through time.

Go on to first upper floor