Museum für Kommunikation Bern

What Museum für Kommunikation Bern does

Museum für Kommunikation Bern is a non-profit communication museum located at Helvetiastrasse 16, Bern, Switzerland. Founded in 1906 (as the former PTT-Museum) and currently operating with approximately 49 employees, it is an institution of the Schweizerische Stiftung für die Geschichte der Post und Telekommunikation (Swiss Foundation for the History of Post and Telecommunications), with Swiss Post and Swisscom as founding sponsors. The museum serves four principal segments — general public and tourists, school groups from kindergarten through tertiary level, families with young children, and museum professionals — through a portfolio anchored by a permanent Kernausstellung of approximately 1,000 interactive historical objects, supplemented by rotating temporary exhibitions (e.g. CHIPS, Gezeichnet 2026, DANCE!, NICHTS), guided tours led by trained Kommunikator:innen staff, workshops, children's programs featuring the Ratatösk mascot, and a multilingual offering across German, French, English, Italian, Ukrainian, and Arabic.

The underlying technology stack is modest and operationally focused: a collection database exposed via the online research portal mfk.rechercheonline.ch, an online ticketing system, MailChimp for newsletter distribution, Google Analytics for web analytics, and social media integrations across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Vimeo. Differentiated intellectual property sits in the proprietary visitor-engagement methodology rather than in software — specifically the Kommunikator:innen concept (introduced 2017, a Switzerland-first live-dialogue mediation model with bespoke training) and the Berner Formel (E³ = P × M), a documented transferable methodology offered as seminars to other institutions. One of the world's largest philatelic collections and the PTT archives constitute the principal intangible-asset base.

The business model is a hybrid non-profit revenue stack combining earned and contributed income. Earned revenue is generated through admissions (CHF 18 adult, CHF 6 child aged 6-15, CHF 12 reduced/group, 30% discount after 3:30 PM), tourist passes (Museum Card CHF 28/CHF 35; Museumsquartier-Pass CHF 30, shared with seven partner institutions), retail products in the on-site shop (Story Cubes CHF 13.50, publications and Lehrmittel ranging from CHF 12 to CHF 38), children's birthday party packages (CHF 280 flat rate), and café revenue. School groups are admitted free of charge when registered two days in advance, with programme costs subsidised by Hasler Stiftung and Swisslos Kultur Kanton Bern. Contributed income is the more material line, sourced from Swiss Post and Swisscom foundation sponsorship, Hasler Stiftung, Swisslos, educamint.ch, Kultur macht Schule, Verband Schweizer Medien, and the foundation endowment itself. Go-to-market relies on the museum's own digital channels (blog, newsletter, social), educational partner networks for the school segment, and Bern Welcome plus Museumsquartier partner institutions for tourist distribution.

Name

Museum für Kommunikation Bern

Legal name

Museum für Kommunikation (eine Institution der Schweizerischen Stiftung für die Geschichte der Post und Telekommunikation)

Website

https://mfk.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Museum für Kommunikation Bern is a non-profit communication museum and foundation institution in Bern, Switzerland, operating a permanent interactive core exhibition, rotating temporary shows, school programs, and Kommunikator:innen-led tours for the general public, school groups, families, and museum professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (71211)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

Keywords

• Communication museum
• Cultural exhibitions
• Heritage education
• Philately collections
• 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, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission tickets: The museum charges admission fees to individual and group visitors. Adults pay CHF 18.00, children aged 6-15 pay CHF 6.00, groups of 10+ pay CHF 12.00 per person, and reduced rates apply for seniors, disability card holders, and students at CHF 12.00. A 30% discount is offered from 3:30 PM onward.
2. Children's birthday parties: The museum sells birthday party packages (Der Turm von Wirrwarr) at a flat rate of CHF 280 per group of up to 12 children, including 90 minutes of facilitated activity plus use of the café for cake.
3. Retail products: The museum operates a shop selling communication-themed products including Story Cubes (CHF 13.50), NICHTS Quartett (CHF 12), the book 'Reden' (CHF 26.00), educational card sets 'Bilder lesen und verstehen' (CHF 38.00 via hep Verlag), and various other items. Postage costs are additional.
4. Museum Cards and passes: The museum participates in the Museum Card scheme for Bern tourists (CHF 28 for 24 hours, CHF 35 for 48 hours) and the Museumsquartier-Pass (CHF 30, valid 5 months, for 1 adult + 2 children). Revenue is shared with partner institutions.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Museum für Kommunikation Bern is a Swiss communication museum that operates permanent and temporary exhibitions on the history and culture of communication, including postal, telegraph, telephone, mobile, and internet communications. It provides guided tours, workshops, school programs, and a public online collection portal. The museum is run as a non-profit foundation originally established as the PTT-Museum and supported by Swiss Post and Swisscom.

Product overview

The Museum für Kommunikation Bern is a communication museum offering a unified portfolio centered on its permanent Kernausstellung (core exhibition) with approximately 1000 interactive objects, supplemented by rotating Wechselausstellungen (temporary exhibitions). The museum provides educational services including VerFührungen (guided tours), workshops for schools and families, children's programs featuring the Ratatösk mascot, and specialized Sprachbegegnungen (language encounter) programs for bilingual school groups. Additional offerings include Lehrmittel (teaching materials) such as Big Data, Bilder lesen und verstehen, and Reisepost, plus retail products like Story Cubes and publications. The museum operates an online collection research portal and maintains visitor engagement through Kommunikator:innen (communicator staff) and various admission passes including the Museumsquartier-Pass and Museum Card for tourists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanent and temporary exhibitions on communication Exhibition program covering the history and culture of communication, including postal, telegraph, telephone, mobile, and internet communications. Open to the general public and visitors.
• Guided tours and workshops Structured group-led tours and interactive workshops delivered on-site for visitors, families, and organized groups.
• School programs Dedicated educational programs for school groups, supporting curriculum-linked learning about communication history.
• Online-Sammlung (online collection portal) Digital portal providing public access to the museum's collection online.
• Kommunikator:innen participation program Community-oriented engagement program that involves the public in the museum's communication themes.
• On-site museum shop Retail shop at the museum selling philately products and merchandise, including a print-on-demand philately shop.
• Museum café Café service available to museum visitors on-site.
• Admission tickets and passes Ticketed entry to museum exhibitions, offered as individual admission, group admission, school admission, and annual passes.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swiss Post (Die Post)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Post is a founding sponsor and foundation partner of the Museum für Kommunikation. The museum is an institution of the Swiss Foundation for the History of the Post and Telecommunications (Schweizerische Stiftung für die Geschichte der Post und Telekommunikation). Swiss Post provides educational materials ('Lernmedien Post') covering postal topics for all school levels, and Post employees receive free museum admission.
• SwisscomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwisscom is a founding sponsor and foundation partner of the museum. Swisscom employees receive free museum admission. Swisscom provides media courses and educational materials for schools (www.swisscom.ch/schulen-ans-internet).
• Hasler StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Hasler Foundation supports the museum's educational programs (museumspädagogische Angebote). Their funding enables the museum to develop and deliver school outreach and educational programming.
• educamint.ch (SATW)minorGTM or Marketing Partnereducamint.ch (a platform of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences SATW) promotes MINT (STEM) educational offerings for schools and leisure. The museum is listed as a partner, expanding its reach to technical education audiences.
• Verband Schweizer Medien (Swiss Media Publishers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum holds a network partnership with the Swiss Media Publishers Association (Verband Schweizer Medien), supporting media literacy and journalism education initiatives.
• Hochschule Luzern HSLU (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe online game THE VOID (companion to the NICHTS exhibition) was jointly developed with students from the Bachelor Spatial Design programme at HSLU, demonstrating educational institution collaboration.
• Pädagogische Hochschule Bern (PHBern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHBern's media library (Mediothek) distributes the museum's Telephony lending kit (Ausleihkoffer Telefonie) to schools in the canton of Bern free of charge. Schools collect kits from PHBern at Helvetiaplatz.
• Bern Welcome AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBern Welcome AG is the official Bern tourism body that sells the Museum Card (24h/48h Bern museum pass) at the tourist information office at Bern railway station and via bern.com.
• Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Swiss National Library is a partner institution in the Museumsquartier-Pass, offering free entry to the Museumsquartier-Pass holder. The museum and library have co-produced exhibitions (e.g., on WWI propaganda).
• hep Verlag AGminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe 'Bilder lesen und verstehen' teaching card set (40 activity cards for grades 5-9) was published in collaboration with hep Verlag AG, which sells the set for CHF 38.00 alongside the museum shop.
• ICOM Switzerland (International Council of Museums)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe museum participates in ICOM Switzerland's professional development course 'Führungsformate, Führungskonzepte' (Leadership Formats, Leadership Concepts), which includes exposure to the museum's Berner Formel visitor engagement methodology.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt: The Frankfurt sister museum of the same Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation. Operates the same thematic focus on communication history with the shared Kommunikator:innen-style engagement model, making it the closest direct peer.
• Museum für Kommunikation Berlin: Third institution under the same Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation foundation, focused on communication in Berlin. Direct peer in mission, collection scope, and visitor engagement methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum: Switzerland's national history museum operating across multiple sites including the Château de Prangins and Forum Schweizer Geschichte Schwyz. Broader incumbent with overlapping cultural-heritage visitor base but wider historical scope.
• Deutsches Museum: One of the world's oldest and largest science and technology museums in Munich. Comparable as a broad incumbent covering communication technology within a wider science/engineering portfolio.

Emerging players

• Heinz Nixdorf Forum: The world's largest computer museum in Paderborn, Germany. Overlaps with the Bern museum's digital culture and communication technology exhibitions as a thematic peer focused on a narrower computing/communications niche.
• Futurium Berlin: Germany's federal forum for future-oriented science communication in Berlin. Comparable as a peer focused on emerging technology and digital society themes with strong educational engagement.

Regional players

• Bernisches Historisches Museum: Major Bern regional history museum and Museumsquartier-Pass co-partner. Comparable as a fellow Bern institution targeting similar school and tourist audiences with historical themes.
• Technorama Swiss Science Center: Swiss hands-on science center in Winterthur. Comparable as a domestic Swiss peer focused on interactive STEM/communication engagement with similar school-group audience.
• Verkehrshaus der Schweiz: Switzerland's national transport and communications museum in Lucerne. Comparable as a Swiss-themed technology/communications museum serving a similar school and family audience, though with broader transport scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mfkbern
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4gi5fBFf5OY9hfP1gmkVVQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/mycompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museum-f%C3%BCr-kommunikation-bern
• Instagraminstagram.com/mfkbern
• TikToktiktok.com/@mfkbern

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Museum für Kommunikation Bern