In 1936, the newly built Natural History Museum of the Community of Burghers (Burgergemeinde) of Bern opened with a spectacular show — one of the most modern exhibitions presented by any natural history museum at that time. Crowds of visitors came to admire the 24 dioramas of the “Africa Hall” comprising lifelike creatures displayed in a natural-looking environment.

But the museum has its origins in a late-seventeenth century Cabinet of Natural Rarities, with exhibits ranging from unicorn horns to meteorites. In 1832, this diverse collection give rise to the Natural History Museum, which moved to a new, purpose-built home in 1882.

By 1921, the museum was already outgrowing this home, and the seeds were soon sown for the new development which was to be completed in 1936: in 1922, Bernard von Wattenwyl — a big-game hunter living in London but stemming from an aristocratic family of Bern — promised to donate everything he bagged on a planned hunting expedition to Kenya if Franz Baumann, then Director of the Museum, would pay the freight costs. The animals shot on the safari were to be suitably displayed by the zoologist — with this shared vision, the two men unwittingly laid the foundations for today’s museum.

Insight into the past, layers and traces: The museum’s history is closely bound up with the dioramas. Hidden behind this wall, for example, are paintings which formed the backdrop to the African buffalo diorama. What was once a centrepiece of the dioramas “Animals of Afrika” was removed in 1998 to provide access to the new extension.

For many years, dioramas remained the most important type of zoological exhibit in natural history museums, including that in Bern. After the opening of the first 24 dioramas of the former “Africa-Hall”, the existing displays were repeatedly expanded, redesigned or dismantled by various teams, with new dioramas being created.

1978 the museum housed a total of 223 dioramas. The dioramas “Animals of Africa”, “Flightless Birds”, “Animals of the North”, “Animals of Switzerland” (native birds and mammals) and “Animals of Asia” presented a heterogeneous picture, spanning many decades. From 1996, the dismantling of 13 Dioramas created space for new types of exhibits, but the “Animals of Africa”, “Animals of Switzerland” and “Animals of the North” dioramas can still be seen today.