International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, Humanitarian museum in Geneva, Switzerland.
The ICRC is a museum in Geneva dedicated to humanitarian work and the principles of the Red Cross movement. The exhibitions show how organizations respond to conflict, disaster, and human suffering, organized around three main themes of human dignity and solidarity.
The museum was founded in 1988 and documents the evolution of humanitarian aid from its origins to today. It tells how organizations adapted to new crises over the decades and changed their methods to meet emerging needs.
The museum is named after the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, whose founding figure Henry Dunant is honoured by the first Nobel Peace Prize medal, awarded jointly to him and Frédéric Passy in 1901 and displayed in the collection. The ICRC itself was founded in Geneva in 1863, not at the museum, which opened in 1988. Visitors can see the UNESCO-listed archives of the International Prisoners of War Agency, used to reconnect people separated during World War I.
The museum is located near the Palais des Nations and is easily reached by public transport. Opening hours vary by season, so checking the website before visiting helps you plan your trip properly.
The museum was built into the hillside on Avenue de la Paix, half-way up the slope below the ICRC headquarters and facing the Palais des Nations. Its entrance path runs through a trench into a courtyard, which two large sails bearing the red cross and red crescent span overhead. The architects were Pierre Zoelly of Zurich, Georges Haefeli of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Michel Girardet of Geneva, who won the competition as a team.
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