Key visual of the exhibition «Landscapes of the mind. C.G. Jung and the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland»

Landscapes of the Soul

C. G. Jung and the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland

Exhibition | accessibility.time_to

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Exhibition

Switzerland has been home to a number of soul searchers over the years, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche and Carl Gustav Jung. Developments in psychiatry and psychoanalysis have a close association with Switzerland, which is still in evidence today, for example the pioneering Rorschach test, Ludwig Binswanger’s Daseinsanalysis or Jung’s analytical psychology. To mark the 150th birthday of C. G. Jung, the National Museum Zurich is presenting its first comprehensive exhibition covering the history of the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland. The main exhibit is the legendary ‘Red Book’ in which C. G. Jung made his notes during an intense spell of self-reflection. Art also helps open doors to the mind with visionary works by Johann Heinrich Füssli, Emma Kunz, Rudolf Steiner, Meret Oppenheim or Thomas Hirschhorn and, last but not least, Heidi Bucher, whose work ‘The Parlour Office of Doctor Binswanger’ sets an important accent. This provides a psychological panorama covering every region in Switzerland, in which the connection between mind and landscape is presented in impressive fashion.

Guided tours

Sa 15.11.2025

13:30 – 14:30 Uhr

Guided tour

Landscapes of the Soul

Sa 27.12.2025

13:30 – 14:30 Uhr

Guided tour

Landscapes of the Soul

Sa 7.2.2026

15:00 – 16:00 Uhr

Guided tour

Landscapes of the Soul

Key visual of the exhibition «Landscapes of the mind. C.G. Jung and the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland». Ninth plate of the Rorschach test, Hermann Rorschach, Bern, 1921. Archiv Hermann Rorschach, Archiv für Medizingeschichte der Universität Bern

Landscapes of the Soul

Guided tour for private groups

Guided tour of the exhibition "Landscapes of the Soul. C.G. Jung and the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland".

Tour: 1 hour

Guided tours can be arranged outside opening hours: Mon between 9.30 am and 6 pm, Tue to Fri between 9.30 am and 7.45 pm. Sat and Sun between 10 am and 5 pm

Registration:  

 2 weeks in advance

Duration:

 

60 minutes; special packages can be offered on request

Group size:

 

max. 25 participants per tour

Languages:

 

English, German, Italian, French. Other offers upon request.

Cost:


 

 

CHF 180 for the guided tour + CHF 10 admission per person

Children up to 16 years free.

For groups of persons with permit N, S, F, the guided tour and admission are free of charge.

accessibility.sr-only.person_card_info Reservations desk

+41 44 218 66 00 reservationen@nationalmuseum.ch

Schools

Landscapes of the Soul – The exploration of the human psyche and mental health

Secondary levels I and II

The discovery of the psyche and the development of psychoanalysis are closely linked to Switzerland. What did Rousseau, Freud and Jung think about emotions, dreams and the inner workings of the human mind? How did they and other “soul seekers” attempt to reveal the unconscious through conversations, drawings and tests? This guided tour provides an insight into the various theories and approaches to the psyche over time and concludes with a reflection on mental health today.

1 hour
Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland

Guided tours in English can be arranged, even outside opening hours. Guided tours are free of charge for school classes from Switzerland.

Booking:  

at least 2 weeks in advance

Duration:

 

1 hour guided tours, other services by prior arrangement

Group size:

 

max. 25 people

Cost:
 

 

Guided tours for school classes from Switzerland are free of charge.

accessibility.sr-only.person_card_info Reservations desk

+41 44 218 66 00 reservationen@nationalmuseum.ch

Blog articles

Publication

Landscapes of the Soul - C. G. Jung and the Exploration of the Human Psyche in Switzerland

Switzerland has long been home to “mappers of the mind” such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Carl Gustav Jung. The international development of psychiatry, psychology, and psychoanalysis from the pioneering Rorschach Test and Ludwig Binswanger’s Daseinsanalyse to Jungian analytical psychology remains closely tied to Switzerland even today. In 1910, Sigmund Freud even considered making Zurich the “world capital of psychoanalysis.”

Painting a lively picture of how mind and landscape are interlinked, this book unfurls a “psychogeography” of Switzerland that includes visionary works of art by Henry Fuseli, Heidi Bucher, H. R. Giger, Meret Oppenheim, and Thomas Hirschhorn, as well as texts by Murray Stein, Verena Kast, Stefan Zweifel, Christine Lötscher, Peter Schneider, Gesa Schneider, Lothar Müller, Ita Grosz-Ganzoni, Thomas Fischer, Elizabeth Leuenberger, Urs Germann, Ursina Klauser, and Michael Jakob, as well as an interview with Alain de Botton.

Published by Swiss National Museum

Hardcover, 208 pages, 67 color and 13 black-and-white illustrations

19.5 x 26.5 cm

ISBN 978-3-03942-277-7

Other exhibitions on the topic

Media

Landscapes of the Soul. C. G. Jung and the exploration of the human psyche in Switzerland

National Museum Zurich | 17.10.2025 - 15.2.2026
published on 15.10.2025

To coincide with the 150th birthday of Carl Gustav Jung, the exhibition shines a light on the history of psychology in Switzerland – with highlights such as Jung’s rarely-seen Red Book, works by artists from Johann Heinrich Füssli to Heidi Bucher, and a look at mental health in today’s world. 

Switzerland has been home to a number of soul searchers over the years, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche and Carl Gustav Jung. Developments in psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis have a close link to Switzerland, which is still in evidence today, for example the pioneering Rorschach test, Ludwig Binswanger’s Daseinsanalysis and Jung’s analytical psychology. To mark Jung’s 150th birthday, the National Museum Zurich is presenting its first comprehensive exhibition looking at the history of psychoanalysis in Switzerland – curated by author and philosopher Stefan Zweifel. 

The exhibition invites visitors to embark on a journey through three major thematic areas: from J. J. Rousseau’s self-analysis and the early history of psychiatry to the rift between Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung and the significance of psychiatry in the present day. One of the central exhibits is the legendary Red Book in which C. G. Jung made his notes during an intense spell of self-reflection. The original copy of the work has rarely been exhibited to the public. 

Visitors can also look forward to a panorama of art, literature and psychiatric history, featuring visionary works by Johann Heinrich Füssli, Emma Kunz, Rudolf Steiner, Meret Oppenheim and Thomas Hirschhorn, alongside critical works, such as Heidi Bucher’s installation ‘The consulting room of Doctor Binswanger’. Historical objects such as a straitjacket, manuscripts and early psychological test charts provide a broader view of the dark sides and positive aspects of psychology and the study of the human mind. 

But the exhibition doesn’t only look to the past. The third part sees Switzerland as a psycho-geographic space and shifts the spotlight to the present. Interviews with experts from the fields of psychology and psychiatry shed light on how social trends influence our mental health. Young people share their perspectives on topics such as stress, social media and identity and discuss how they cope with the day-to-day challenges of modern life. The exhibition therefore builds a bridge between historical and contemporary ‘landscapes of the soul’.

Images

Heidi Bucher, The Parlour Office of Doctor Binswanger

In 1988, Swiss artist Heidi Bucher (1926–1993) peeled layers of gauze and latex from the walls of Ludwig Binswanger’s consultation room at the Bellevue Sanatorium in Kreuzlingen. Her work engages with female patients such as “Anna O.,” admitted in 1882 for morphine withdrawal, who were later silenced in the history of psychoanalysis. Heidi Bucher, The Parlour Office of Doctor Binswanger, Bellevue Sanatorium, Kreuzlingen, 1988, gauze, fish glue and latex

© The Estate of Heidi Bucher, courtesy of the Estate of Heidi Bucher and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul and London, photo: Swiss National Museum

A page from the Red Book

In 1913, C. G. Jung began his descent into the unconscious realm as a personal experiment. He entered his inner experiences in the Red Book, which he elaborately documented in the style of a medieval manuscript. C. G. Jung, The Red Book – Liber Novus, 1913–1930, vellum, paper, ink, pigments, gold sheet, leather

© Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung, Zürich

From the Red book

The sphere is a symbol of wholeness and the self. It is a motif that frequently appears in the drawings of C. G. Jung. C. G. Jung, The Red Book – Liber Novus, 1913–1930, vellum, paper, ink, pigments, gold sheet, leather

© Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung, Zürich

Nightmares

In this painting, the Swiss artist J.H. Füssli (1741–1825), commonly known as Henry Fuseli, illustrated the unconscious. The mare and the demon embody the depths of the soul. Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1790/91, oil on canvas

Freies Deutsches Hochstift / Frankfurter Goethe-Museum, IV–1953–033

Patient image

C. G. Jung had his patients paint pictures as an integral part of his therapeutic approach. This was called ‘active imagination’. Patient image 006. AFAI from the C. G. Jung collection, Bildarchiv, C. G. Jung-Institut Zürich

© C. G. Jung Institut Zürich, Küsnacht

Psychoanalytic Congress

In 1911, C. G. Jung oversaw the third International Psychoanalytic Congress, held in Weimar. For the first time, women are also present, including Lou Andreas-Salomé and Emma Jung. Congress participants, photo: Franz Vältl, Weimar, 1911

© Familienarchiv Jung, Küsnacht

C. G. Jung and Emma Jung-Rauschenbach

In 1903, C. G. Jung married Emma Rauschenbach, herself a pioneer of depth psychology. Engagement picture of Emma and C. G. Jung, 1902

© Familienarchiv Jung, Küsnacht

The break

Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung exchanged letters for seven years. In the last ones, Jung expresses his opposition to the authority of his intellectual mentor, Freud. The friendship ended on 6 January 1913 with the legendary words: ‘The rest is silence.’ Letter from C. G. Jung to Sigmund Freud, 6 January 1913

© ETH Bibliothek Zürich, Hs 1056:31092

‘Insane Asylum’

Adolf Wölfli, who was a patient at Waldau from 1895 to 1930, mapped the structure of an “insane asylum”. The individual’s own mind and the institution are superimposed, showing how inmates in the ‘panopticon’ of mental institutions felt under constant surveillance. Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930), Irren=Anstalt Band=Hain, 1910, from: Von der Wiege bis zum Graab, issue 4, p. 203, pencil and colored pencil on newspaper, A 9243 - 20(IV/p.203)

© Adolf Wölfli-Stiftung, Kunstmuseum Bern, A 9243 - 20(IV/p.203)

Rorschach Test

Hermann Rorschach made watercolour renderings for the test plates that patients had to interpret. He created various versions and improved the details before they were reproduced in print. Preliminary drawing of the 8th Rorschach plate, Hermann Rorschach, 1917–1918

Archiv Hermann Rorschach, Archiv für Medizingeschichte der Universität Bern

«Landscapes of the Soul» at the National Museum Zurich, 2025

A view of the exhibition

© Swiss National Museum

«Landscapes of the Soul» at the National Museum Zurich, 2025

A view of the exhibition

© Swiss National Museum

«Landscapes of the Soul» at the National Museum Zurich, 2025

A view of the exhibition

© Swiss National Museum

National Museum Zurich press contact

+41 44 218 65 64 medien@nationalmuseum.ch

Exhibition imprint

  • Overall management Denise Tonella
  • Curator and Concept Stefan Zweifel
  • Project direction Pascale Meyer
  • Scientific collaboration Sophie Dänzer, Valérie Lüthi
  • Scenography Alex Harb
  • Exhibition graphic Martina Brassel
  • Advisory committee Roman Aebersold, Günhan Akarçay, Heidi Amrein, Beat Högger, Sabrina Médioni, Denise Tonella
  • Project controlling Sabrina Médioni
  • Cultural services and museum education Lisa Engi, Vera Humbel, Tanja Bitonti
  • Technical management Ira Allemann, Ladina Fait, Mike Zaugg
  • Exhibition construction Ira Allemann, Raul Baumann, Marc Hägeli, Philippe Leuthardt, Julia Rusterholz, Dave Schwitter
  • Conservation management Natalie Ellwanger, Ulrike Rothenhäusler
  • Conservation and mounting of objects Chrigel Alder, Sophie Gomes, Iona Leroy, Sarah Longrée, Charlotte Maier, Véronique Mathieu, Jürg Mathys, Gaby Petrak, Tino Zagermann
  • Object logistics and assembly David Blazquez, Christian Affentranger, Aymeric Nager, Simon d’Hollosy, Reto Hegetschweiler
  • Loans Laura Mosimann, Cristina Kaufmann, Claudio Stefanutto
  • Photography Jörg Brandt, Felix Jungo
  • Picture library Ronja Eggenschwiler, Andrea Kunz, Fabian Müller
  • IT | Web Alex Baur
  • Media stations Thomas Bucher, Ueli Heiniger, Pasquale Pollastro, Danilo Rüttimann
  • Video interviews Prismago, Adrian Kelterborn, Genevieve Chanel Mathis
  • Audio guide Keller Thurgau
  • Marketing and Communication Anna-Britta Maag, Sebastiano Mereu, Carole Neuenschwander, Alexander Rechsteiner
  • Advertising graphic Roli Hofer
  • Translations Laurence Neuffer, Camilla Nielsen, Giovanni Sorge, Caitlin Stephens


    Special thanks
  • Familienarchiv Jung, Küsnacht
  • Museum Haus C.G. Jung, Küsnacht
  • Stiftung C.G. Jung Küsnacht, Küsnacht
  • C. G. Jung-Institut, Zürich/Küsnacht, Bildarchiv
  • Stiftung der Werke von C.G. Jung, Zürich


    With the kind support of
  • UBS Kulturstiftung

Items generously loaned by

  • Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau
  • Dätwyler Stiftung, Altdorf
  • Staatsarchiv Uri, Altdorf
  • Fondazione Eranos, Ascona
  • Fondation Beyeler, Riehen / Basel
  • Historisches Museum Basel
  • Firmenarchiv Novartis, Basel
  • Pharmaziemuseum der Universität Basel
  • Adolf Wölfli Stiftung, Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern
  • Archiv Hermann Rorschach, Archiv für Medizingeschichte der Universität Bern
  • Pharmazeutisches Kontrolllabor, Bern
  • Nachlass Eberhard W. Kornfeld, Bern
  • Robert Walser-Stiftung Bern
  • Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek: Schweizerisches Literaturarchiv, Bern
  • Psychiatrie-Museum Bern
  • Anna Koellreuter, Biel
  • Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur
  • Collection Daniel & Natalia Hug, Cologne Germany
  • Kirchner Museum Davos
  • Rudolf Steiner Archiv, Dornach
  • Freies Deutsches Hochstift / Frankfurter Goethe-Museum
  • Staatsarchiv des Kantons Thurgau (StATG), Frauenfeld
  • Bibliothèque de Genève
  • Centre Jean Piaget, Université de Genève
  • HR Giger Museum, Gruyères
  • John Neumeier Stiftung, Hamburg
  • Ursula Hauser Collection, Switzerland
  • C. G. Jung-Institut, Zürich / Küsnacht, Bildarchiv
  • Familienarchiv Jung, Küsnacht
  • Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
  • Kunstmuseum Luzern
  • PZM Psychiatriezentrum Münsingen AG
  • Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel
  • Kanton Schaffhausen, Staatsarchiv
  • Stiftung Nietzsche Haus in Sils Maria
  • Kantonsbibliothek Nidwalden, Nachlass Annemarie von Matt
  • Nidwaldner Museum, Stans
  • Albertina, Wien
  • Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Wien
  • Studio und Archiv Paul Parin und Goldy ­ Parin-Matthèy, Wien
  • Emma Kunz Stiftung, Würenlos
  • Abteilung Entwicklungspädiatrie, Universtitäts-Kinderspital Zürich
  • ETH-Bibliothek, Hochschularchiv, Zürich
  • Felix Walder, Zürich
  • Fischli Weiss Archive, Zürich
  • Freud-Institut Zürich
  • Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich
  • Kunsthaus Zürich
  • Sammlung Maja Hoffmann / LUMA Foundation, Zürich
  • Universität Zürich – Institut für Evolutionäre Medizin (IEM)
  • Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / Grafik­ sammlung und Kunstgewerbesammlung / Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
  • Stiftung der Werke von C. G. Jung, Zürich
  • Stiftung Pestalozzianum, Zürich
  • Susanne Seiler, Zürich
  • The Estate of Heidi Bucher, Zürich
  • Zentralbibliothek Zürich

Works by

  • Louise Bourgeois
  • Heidi Bucher
  • Aloïse Corbaz
  • Guy Debord
  • Marlene Dumas
  • Fischli / Weiss
  • Johann Heinrich Füssli
  • H.R. Giger
  • Charles Gleyre
  • Thomas Hirschhorn
  • Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
  • Emma Kunz
  • Robert Longo
  • Heinrich Anton Müller
  • Meret Oppenheim
  • Elisabeth Pfenninger
  • Giovanni Battista Piranesi
  • Markus Raetz
  • Arnulf Rainer
  • Constance Schwartzlin-Berberat
  • Erna Schillig
  • Kerim Seiler
  • Sophie Taeuber-Arp
  • Paul Thek
  • Annemarie von Matt
  • Caspar Wolf
  • Adolf Wölfli