Travelogue

We sent Winterthur photographer Milad Ahmadvand on a journey through the museum city of Winterthur with art historian Franca and television director Jonas. An experience report in pictures and words.

We set off at 10 o'clock in the morning. We start at the Oskar Reinhart Collection "Am Römerholz" and the Kunst Museum Winterthur. The Winterthur Museum Pass takes us on a royal journey through the history of European art from the 14th to the early 20th century and opens the doors to one of the most important private collections of the 18th to 20th centuries.

In Winterthur, unique groups of early Romanticism and Realism meet French Impressionists and paintings by Dutch masters of the Golden Age. Within a radius of just 100 meters, an almost infinite treasure trove of works by German, Swiss and Austrian artists such as Friedrich, Hodler, Anker and Giacometti awaits - as well as several parks and museum cafés.

After a guided tour of Römerholz, a coffee on the terrace and a spontaneous decision to have a short picnic in the extensive park, we set off towards the city center.

In addition to unique holdings of French art, one of the most important Swiss collections of classical modern art and contemporary exhibitions await us at the Kunst Museum Winterthur next to the Stadthaus. There is a lot to see. And the time flies by. We take a short lunch break and order a light treat in the bistro.

For dessert, we treat ourselves to a detour to the Natural History Museum and are even allowed to take a quick look in the depot with Director Daniela Zingg. This is followed by a stop at the Coin Cabinet and the Collection of Classical Antiquities in the Villa Bühler, where internationally important coin collections are examined by researchers from all over the world. This shows: The museum city also plays at the highest level in the fields of nature, technology, crafts and archaeology. For example, the Swiss Science Center Technorama, the largest interactive learning center for the natural sciences, shines far beyond Switzerland's borders.

Let's continue: We walk from the Coin Cabinet across the Stadtgarten, the green living room of the local population, to the Kunst Museum Winterthur | Reinhart am Stadtgarten. There we immerse ourselves in a unique ensemble of comprehensive groups of works from the early Romantic and Realist periods. And what we had suspected all day, and admittedly somewhat provoked, happened: We forget the time.

Before we call it a day, we take a stroll through the pretty old town, where the Kunsthalle presents temporary exhibitions of contemporary art in the historic rooms of the Waaghaus. We end the evening in the old town - and lose ourselves in Winterthur's dense and varied cultural offerings.

In addition to its internationally relevant holdings of older art, Winterthur is also home to the Fotomuseum and the Fotostiftung Schweiz, Switzerland's leading center of excellence for photography and visual culture. We start the second day with a cup of tea in the bistro of the photo center and dedicate the morning entirely to photographic art.

After a guided tour of a contemporary temporary exhibition at the Fotomuseum, we cross the street to the Fotostiftung, whose collection comprises over 60,000 exhibition prints, 250,000 archive prints and 1,000,000 negatives. Together with the Fotomuseum Winterthur, the foundation is one of the Art Museums of Switzerland: 10 world-class museums that stand for art enjoyment at the highest level.

After lunch, we stroll back into the old town - and after a few minutes we reach the Gewerbemuseum next to the church square. The Gewerbemuseum Winterthur is the only Swiss museum to stage exhibitions at the intersection of design, art and everyday culture - and regularly exports them abroad. It shows familiar things in unusual ways, asks relevant questions and presents surprising and sensual insights into current topics. And best of all: we are lucky. Co-director Susanna Kumschick is giving us a personal tour of the current exhibition.

During a break in the beautiful Grand Café du Musée, we discuss whether we should travel back in time once again; to Kyburg Castle, Hegi Castle or Mörsburg Castle. We decide on a short hike into the world of the Habsburgs and Savoys and a detour to Zurich's beautiful wine country the next day - and finish off today with a walk through the park to the nearby Lindengut Museum. Our conclusion after two days in the museum city: we'll be back!