Customs Museum in Schwyz is dedicated to Swiss folk music
The new temporary exhibition "Folk Music" at the Swiss National Museum in Schwyz will showcase the diversity of Swiss folk music from June 14. It promises a cultural and historical journey through sound.
12.06.2025, 13:21
SDA
The exhibition invites visitors on a musical journey of discovery. It shows how the "myth of folk music" was created and is constantly being reinterpreted, the Swiss National Museum announced in a press release on Thursday.
The exhibition focuses on four instruments: the Schwyzerörgeli, Alphorn, dulcimer and yodel. In addition, historical exhibits such as the 2500-piece "Nussbaumer" Schwyzerörgelis or the hood of a Silvesterchlaus from the Appenzell region will be on display. Musical legends such as clarinettist Kasimir Geisser, "Ländler Pope" Wysel Gyr and alphorn soloist Lisa Stoll are also portrayed.
Anyone who wants to can play, yodel or dance themselves on the Stubete stage, with simple instructions on how to join in.
From dance music to national pride
The exhibition also shows how different folk music sounds in different regions, with examples from Appenzell to Graubünden and Ticino. And how simple dance music became a piece of national identity over the course of time, as curator Sibylle Gerber explained in the press release.
Concerts, workshops, guided tours and a special audio guide for children round off the exhibition. Visitors can also contribute their own memories of folk music. The digital collection "My Folk Music" is to be created from this.
The "Folk Music" exhibition runs from June 14 to May 3, 2026.
