Today
10:00 - 19:00
10:00 - 19:00
Tuesday till Wednesday 10:00 - 17:00
Thursday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday till Sunday 10:00 - 17:00
Monday closed
Tuesday till Wednesday and Friday 10:00 - 18:00
Thursday 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday till Monday closed
Swiss National Holiday 01.08.2025 10:00 - 17:00
Long Night of the Museums 06.09.2025 10:00 - 17:00
18:00 - 23:59
Long Night of the Museums 07.09.2025 0:00 - 2:00
10:00 - 17:00
Knabenschiessen 15.09.2025 closed
Family Day 19.10.2025 10:00 - 17:00
22.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
23.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
Christmas Eve 24.12.2025 10:00 - 14:00
Christmas 25.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
St. Stephen´s Day 26.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
27.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
28.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
29.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
30.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
New Year´s Eve 31.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
New Year´s Day 01.01.2026 10:00 - 17:00
Saint Berchtold 02.01.2026 10:00 - 17:00
accessibility.openinghours.special_opening_hours.link
Show all10:00 - 19:00
Tuesday till Wednesday 10:00 - 17:00
Thursday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday till Sunday 10:00 - 17:00
Monday closed
Tuesday till Wednesday and Friday 10:00 - 18:00
Thursday 10:00 - 19:00
Saturday till Monday closed
Swiss National Holiday 01.08.2025 10:00 - 17:00
Long Night of the Museums 06.09.2025 10:00 - 17:00
18:00 - 23:59
Long Night of the Museums 07.09.2025 0:00 - 2:00
10:00 - 17:00
Knabenschiessen 15.09.2025 closed
Family Day 19.10.2025 10:00 - 17:00
22.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
23.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
Christmas Eve 24.12.2025 10:00 - 14:00
Christmas 25.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
St. Stephen´s Day 26.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
27.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
28.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
29.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
30.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
New Year´s Eve 31.12.2025 10:00 - 17:00
New Year´s Day 01.01.2026 10:00 - 17:00
Saint Berchtold 02.01.2026 10:00 - 17:00
accessibility.openinghours.special_opening_hours.link
Show allGuided tour with an expert
Rundgang in der Ausstellung «begehrt. umsorgt. gemartert. Körper im Mittelalter».
Museumstrasse 2
8021 Zürich
Monday till Friday 09:00 - 12:30
Every era and society cultivates its own image of the human body. In the Middle Ages, the physical form was something of a cause célèbre. The all-powerful church considered bodily desire sinful, while worshipping the martyred bodies of Jesus and the saints. Meanwhile, in the secular world, aristocrats nurtured their appearance with cosmetic products and by doing sport – while the common people suffered from disease and demanding physical labour. Ultimately, death loomed in everyone’s future as it was omnipresent during the Middle Ages. Dead bodies were cared for and honoured in the hope of resurrection. The exhibition includes many items on loan from within and outside Switzerland and looks back on the human body in the Middle Ages from a cultural history perspective, thereby also raising some questions about how we perceive the human body today.