Museumsquartier Bern

What Museumsquartier Bern does

Museumsquartier Bern is a Swiss non-profit association (Verein Museumsquartier Bern) founded in June 2021 that coordinates eleven autonomous cultural and educational institutions in the city of Bern: ALPS Swiss Alpine Museum, Bernisches Historisches Museum / Einstein Museum, Kunsthalle Bern, Museum für Kommunikation, Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, Swiss National Library, Swiss Shooting Museum, Gymnasium Kirchenfeld, PHBern, Bern City Archives, and Yehudi Menuhin Forum. Its functional role is to act as a coordination and umbrella-brand layer rather than to operate any single venue: the association drives cross-institutional joint projects, a unified ticketing product (the Museumsquartier-Pass at CHF 30 valid across seven institutions for five months), umbrella marketing across website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and email, and shared amenities including the Museum Garden event space and Association Kitchen.

The underlying technology footprint is minimal: MQB-Stories is the principal digital initiative, an online platform built in collaboration with the PTT-Archiv and Museum für Kommunikation that interlinks collections across the eleven institutions. The website is maintained to WCAG 2.1 and eCH-0059 accessibility standards. There are no proprietary software products, AI/ML capabilities, mobile apps, or third-party platform integrations disclosed.

Revenue mechanics blend three streams: (i) one-time admissions and combined ticketing across member institutions, (ii) event venue and garden rental including partner festivals such as Tanzfest Bern and GAIA Musikfestival, and (iii) recurring institutional funding from Burgergemeinde Bern, Stadt Bern, and Kanton Bern, alongside the Burgergemeinde's CHF 80 million capital commitment for the winning urban development project. The association's primary customer segments are general public visitors, families, school groups, and adult cultural enthusiasts; the operating model is event-driven and visitor-throughput-driven rather than enterprise sales-driven.

Name

Museumsquartier Bern

Legal name

Verein Museumsquartier Bern

Website

https://mqb.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Museumsquartier Bern is a Swiss non-profit association coordinating eleven autonomous cultural and educational institutions in Bern, operating a combined Museumsquartier-Pass (CHF 30), shared event spaces, and an umbrella brand funded by Burgergemeinde Bern, Stadt Bern, and Kanton Bern.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Institutions & Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Museums (THAJADAA), History Museums (THAJADAB), Natural History Museums (THAJADAC), Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

Keywords

• Cultural institution cluster
• Museum association coordination
• Combined museum ticketing
• Cultural campus operations
• 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, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Museum admissions and ticketing: Individual museums within the quarter charge admission fees. The Museumsquartier-Pass (CHF 30) provides discounted combined entry to multiple institutions, valid for five months for one adult and two children.
2. Event venue rental and programming: The Museum Garden hosts various events including concerts, outdoor exhibitions, and festivals. The Association Kitchen is available for community bookings.
3. Institutional funding and donations: Funded by Burgergemeinde Bern, Stadt Bern, and Kanton Bern. The Burgergemeinde committed up to 80 million CHF investment for the winning urban development project.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Museumsquartier Bern operates as a coordination association for eleven autonomous cultural and educational institutions in Bern, Switzerland. It provides combined access through the Museumsquartier-Pass, manages shared facilities such as the Museum Garden and the Association Kitchen, and runs MQB-Stories as a digital platform that interlinks the collections of its member institutions. Its purpose is to promote cross-institutional collaboration, drive joint events, and unify visitor-facing communication under an umbrella brand.

Product overview

Museumsquartier Bern is a cultural campus comprising eleven autonomous institutions that have formed a collaborative association since June 2021. Rather than a unified software product, the offering consists of a coordinated ecosystem of museums, educational institutions, and cultural venues. The core offering is the Museumsquartier-Pass, a combined ticketing system that provides discounted access across multiple institutions. The campus also features shared amenities including the Museum Garden (an outdoor recreation and event space) and the Association Kitchen (a communal cooking facility). A digital initiative called MQB-Stories links collections across institutions through an online platform. The member institutions include the ALPS Swiss Alpine Museum, Bern History Museum / Einstein Museum, Kunsthalle Bern, Museum of Communication, Natural History Museum of Bern, Swiss National Library, Swiss Shooting Museum, Gymnasium Kirchenfeld, PHBern, Bern City Archives, and Yehudi Menuhin Forum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museumsquartier-Pass Combined all-in-one ticket priced at CHF 30, valid for five months, granting one-time access for one adult and up to two children (to age 16) to ALPS Swiss Alpine Museum, Bern History Museum / Einstein Museum, Kunsthalle Bern, Museum of Communication, Natural History Museum of Bern, Swiss National Library, and Swiss Shooting Museum.
• Museum Garden (Museumsgarten) Outdoor space serving as a relaxation and recreation area with tables, chairs, playgrounds, and surrounding cafés and restaurants; hosts open-air events including concerts, outdoor exhibitions, and the annual summer festival.
• Association Kitchen (Vereinsküche) Communal outdoor kitchen facility available from June to September, featuring tables, chairs, and barbecue areas with kitchen utensils available free of charge upon advance booking by community members.
• MQB-Stories

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ annual visitors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Geographisches Institut der Universität Zürich (University of Zurich)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'einfach komplex' outdoor exhibition on biodiversity, which presented scientific findings through 14 sculptures in the Museum Garden. The exhibition translates scientific knowledge into visual statements.
• Fachklasse Grafik LuzerncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign collaboration on the 'einfach komplex' biodiversity exhibition, translating scientific content into visual communication.
• graphic.rodeocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiated and moderated the 'einfach komplex' project. A team of scientists, communication experts, and designers working on science communication.
• Verein für Berner MedienvielfaltcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the media diversity exhibition, which addresses the tension between media crisis and media diversity. The association publishes the online magazine 'Hauptstadt'.
• Onlinemagazin HauptstadtcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline magazine that published the call for entries in a design competition on media diversity. Sophie Reinhardt from Hauptstadt moderates events.
• Tanzfest BernminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal partnership for events in the Museum Garden, bringing dance festival programming to the quarter.
• GAIA MusikfestivalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExternal partnership bringing music festival programming to the Museum Quarter in November.
• PTT-Archiv / Museum für KommunikationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunched 'MQB-Stories' online platform linking collections from all eleven institutions, presenting different perspectives and connecting archival holdings.
• Staab Architekten / Atelier Loidl / Holzer Kobler ArchitekturenminorOthersSelected urban planning team from Berlin/Zurich for the master planning competition for Museumsquartier's long-term development.
• pool Architekten / S2L / Sibylle LichtensteigerminorOthersSelected urban planning team from Zurich for the master planning competition.
• GWJ Architektur / Barozzi Veiga / ORT für Landschaftsarchitektur / Bellprat PartnerminorOthersSelected urban planning team from Bern/Chur/Barcelona/Zurich for the master planning competition.
• Vécsey Schmidt Architekten / noAarchitecten / Lorenz Eugster Landschaftsarchitektur / Studio dasminorOthersSelected urban planning team from Basel/Brussels/Zurich/St. Gallen for the master planning competition.
• Platzhalter Studio / Akkurat Bauatelier / nux Landschaftsarchitektur / Atelier Marcel HeggminorOthersSelected junior/young team from Bern/Thun/Thalwil/Biel for the master planning competition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Barbican Centre: A London arts centre operating galleries, theatres, concert halls, library, and schools under one organizational roof — comparable in multi-domain cultural programming and centralized visitor wayfinding.
• Southbank Centre London: A multi-venue cultural campus with shared outdoor space, joint ticketing, and umbrella marketing across Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, Purcell Room, etc. Closest Anglo analogue to the Museumsquartier governance and visitor-flow model.
• MuseumsQuartier Vienna (MQ): The original and most-cited European "Museum Quarter" model. A coordinating body for an inner-city cluster of cultural institutions (Leopold Museum, MUMOK, Kunsthalle Wien, etc.) offering combined ticketing, shared courtyards, and joint programming — directly analogous to MQB's structure.
• Museum Island Berlin (Museumsinsel): A UNESCO-listed cluster of five Berlin State Museums (Pergamon, Neues, Altes, Bode, Alte Nationalgalerie) operating as a coordinated Berlin State Museums trust with a combined island ticket — comparable as a curated museum-cluster destination.
• Kulturforum Berlin: Adjacent Berlin State Museums site grouping the Neue Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, and Kunstbibliothek with shared ticketing — operates within the same Berlin State Museums governance and a parallel cultural-campus model.
• Museumplein Amsterdam: The Museum Quarter in Amsterdam bundling Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk, and Moco into a single cultural cluster with shared ticketing infrastructure and a unified visitor experience — a direct operational analogue.
• Museumsufer Frankfurt: The Museum Embankment in Frankfurt — a publicly-supported cluster of 15+ museums along the Main river, with shared branding, a combined "MuseumsuferCard," and joint event programming. Same architectural and visitor-economics model as Bern.

Broad incumbents

• Centre Pompidou: A single iconic institution rather than a cluster, but operates with a broader multi-disciplinary offering (art, design, architecture, music) and a similar combined admission ticket model. Comparable as a multi-discipline flagship cultural institution.
• Getty Center Los Angeles: A multi-building cultural campus with combined ticketing, coordinated exhibitions, and substantial endowment-funded programming. Less of a coordinating body and more of a single institution, but comparable as a curated multi-discipline destination campus.

Regional players

• District Six Museum Cape Town: A heritage-focused non-profit museum cluster with a coordination association structure similar to MQB. Comparable as a member-driven museum-as-association governance model, though focused on heritage rather than multi-disciplinary cultural programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/museumsquartierbern/?locale=de_DE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museumsquartier-bern
• Instagraminstagram.com/museumsquartier_bern/?hl=de

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 Museumsquartier Bern