Museum Rietberg, Art museum in Rieterpark, Zürich, Switzerland.
Museum Rietberg is an art museum in Zurich's Rieterpark, housed in several historic villas and an underground extension, all dedicated to art from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. The buildings sit within a landscaped park and are linked by footpaths, so moving between galleries also means walking through open green space.
In 1945 the city of Zurich purchased the Rieterpark and the Wesendonck Villa, and in 1949 a referendum approved converting the villa into a museum for Baron Eduard von der Heydt's collection, which he had donated to the city. The architect Alfred Gradmann carried out the conversion in 1951–52, and the museum opened on 24 May 1952. The Schönberg Villa, bought in 1976 and opened in 1978, added a library and administration, and the underground Smaragd wing by Grazioli and Krischanitz opened in 2007.
Museum Rietberg is one of the few museums in Switzerland devoted entirely to art from outside Europe, covering Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. The objects on display range from ancient ritual pieces to more recent works, giving visitors a sense of how different traditions approached art-making.
The museum sits on a hill in the southern part of the city, reachable on foot from central Zurich or by public transport. Visitors who want to see all the buildings should allow extra time, since the galleries are spread across different structures within the park.
The city of Zurich bought the Wesendonck Villa and the Rieterpark in 1945, not inherited them; a 1949 referendum approved converting the villa into a museum, and architect Alfred Gradmann carried out the work in 1951-52. Richard Wagner did not compose inside the villa: he lived nearby during his Zurich years, and the villa's link to him is as a meeting place of that circle.
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