Bernisches Historisches Museum

What Bernisches Historisches Museum does

Bernisches Historisches Museum (BHM), founded in 1894 in Bern, Switzerland, is a municipal historical museum and cultural institution operating under the governance of the City of Bern. The museum preserves and presents collections spanning archaeology, history, ethnography, and numismatics, alongside permanent exhibitions including the Einstein Museum and 'Glory and Decline of the Ancien Régime', as well as rotating temporary exhibitions. Its 42 employees support collection management, conservation (including a dedicated Caesar Tapestries conservation project), archival research, exhibition programming, educational offerings for schools and families, and visitor services. The institution also operates research initiatives through its BHM LAB division, focusing on colonial provenance, decolonial museum practices, and the Swiss Benin Initiative.

The museum's business model combines public municipal funding with diversified self-generated revenue streams: visitor admission fees, event and room rental for private and corporate functions, annual Friends of the Museum (Förderverein) memberships, charitable donations, and online photo reproduction orders. Its go-to-market motion is event- and exhibition-driven, attracting general public visitors, educational institutions, event renters, and members/patrons through a physical destination in Bern and a multilingual digital presence across German, French, and English. Distribution channels include direct walk-in access, a global e-commerce storefront for photo orders, and direct sales for room rentals and memberships.

The institution is currently executing a comprehensive overhaul (Gesamterneuerung) under its 'Museum im Wandel' (A changing museum) transformation program, encompassing Project SEB for inventory and collection assessment, conservation projects, and expanded research capabilities. Its marketing channels span Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, email newsletters, and a trilingual content website. No AI/ML capabilities, proprietary technology platforms, or venture capital/private equity ownership are disclosed in the available material.

Name

Bernisches Historisches Museum

Legal name

Bernisches Historisches Museum

Website

https://bhm.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bernisches Historisches Museum (BHM) is a municipal historical museum in Bern, Switzerland, founded in 1894, preserving archaeological, historical, ethnographical, and numismatic collections and serving the general public, schools, event renters, and members through exhibitions, educational programs, and venue rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

Keywords

• Historical museum collections
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Museum exhibitions programs
• Provenance research services
• Educational museum programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Revenue generated from visitor admission fees to the museum's exhibitions and collections
2. Room Rental: Rental of museum spaces and facilities for private and corporate events
3. Friends of the Museum Membership: Annual membership program supporting the museum with associated benefits
4. Donations: Charitable donations from supporters and patrons
5. Photo Orders: Sale of photographic reproductions of collection items

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Bernisches Historisches Museum (BHM) is a historical museum that preserves and presents cultural heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions, core collections in archaeology, ethnography, history, and numismatics, and the dedicated Einstein Museum. It also offers educational and family programs, venue rentals for events, photo reproduction services, and research initiatives such as BHM LAB focused on colonial provenance and decolonial practices.

Product overview

Bernisches Historisches Museum (BHM) is a cultural institution offering a diverse portfolio of collections, exhibitions, educational programs, and research initiatives. The museum operates a multi-layered structure comprising core collections (Archaeological, Historical, Ethnographical, Numismatic), permanent exhibitions (Einstein Museum, Glory and Decline of the Ancien Régime), and rotating temporary exhibitions. Beyond traditional museum offerings, BHM provides visitor programs including yoga sessions, family workshops, and educational tours. The institution also operates research initiatives through BHM LAB focusing on provenance research, colonial history, and decolonial practices, with services like room rental and photo orders complementing the visitor experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BHM LAB: Research and project division focusing on colonial history, decolonial futures, and contemporary museum practices
• Einstein Museum
• Provenance Research
• Comprehensive Overhaul (Gesamterneuerung)

Products and services

• Archaeological Collection Core museum collection containing artifacts from various historical periods and civilizations, available to researchers, educators, and the general public.
• Historical Collection Core museum collection showcasing artifacts from Bern and Swiss history, available to researchers, educators, and the general public.
• Ethnographical Collection Ethnographic collection featuring cultural artifacts from around the world, available to researchers, educators, and the general public.
• Numismatic Collection Coin and currency collection spanning various historical periods, available to researchers, educators, and the general public.
• Archives Archival materials including the Ethnographical Collection Archive for indexing and research purposes, available to researchers and scholars.
• Einstein Museum Permanent exhibition dedicated to Albert Einstein, showcasing the life and work of Albert Einstein during his time in Bern. Open to general public visitors, cultural tourists, and educational groups.
• Glory and Decline of the Ancien Régime Permanent exhibition exploring the history of the Ancien Régime in France, available to general public visitors and educational groups.
• Room Rental Event venue rental service for private and corporate functions in museum spaces including the Kubus. Targeted at event organizers, corporate planners, and individuals hosting celebrations.
• Photo Orders Online service allowing customers to order photographs of collection items for personal, editorial, or research use. Targeted at researchers, publishers, journalists, and individuals needing collection imagery.
• Friends of the Museum Membership Annual membership program through the Förderverein (Association of Friends of the Museum), offering supporters membership benefits and exclusive access. Targeted at museum patrons and community supporters.
• Family Atelier Creative workshop program offering hands-on activities for families and children at the museum. Targeted at families with children seeking interactive cultural experiences.
• Swiss Benin Initiative Collaborative research initiative investigating and addressing colonial-era acquisitions of Benin Kingdom artifacts in the museum's collection. Targeted at researchers, partner institutions, and communities engaged in restitution discussions.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Helvetisches Goldmuseum: Smaller Swiss thematic museum. Partial overlap in cultural tourism and Swiss heritage storytelling, though focused on a narrower subject area.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Germany's national history museum in Berlin. Comparable as a larger national-level history museum with comprehensive collections, major exhibitions, and government-backed funding, though at significantly greater scale.
• Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford): Oxford's ethnographic and archaeological museum. Comparable in collection scope (ethnography, archaeology, numismatics) and engagement with decolonial provenance research, though housed within a university.

Direct peers

• Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum: Switzerland's national history museum with three sites. Directly comparable as a Swiss historical museum operating permanent and temporary exhibitions, cultural programming, and provenance research, with similar visitor and educational missions.
• Rietberg Museum (Zurich): Zurich's museum of non-European art with significant ethnographic collections. Comparable focus on ethnography, provenance research, and colonial collection stewardship, sharing both academic dialogue and visitor demographic.
• Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva): Geneva's municipal multidisciplinary museum. Comparable in scale and mission as a French-Swiss regional museum with archaeology, fine arts, and history collections, multilingual outreach, and public-institution governance.
• Historisches Museum Basel: Basel's municipal history museum. Directly comparable as a Swiss regional history museum with broad collections, permanent and temporary exhibitions, and similar governance/funder mix.

Regional players

• Verkehrshaus der Schweiz: Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. Comparable as a major Swiss cultural attraction with strong visitor traffic, event venue rentals, and educational programming, though focused on transport and technology.
• Kunstmuseum Bern: Bern's art museum and direct neighbor. Comparable as a municipal cultural institution in the same city, sharing visitor base, school programs, and event rental market, though focused on fine art rather than history.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/bernhistmuseum
• Facebookfacebook.com/BernHistMus
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bernisches-historisches-museum
• Instagraminstagram.com/bernhistmus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bernisches Historisches Museum