Haus zum Kirschgarten, City palace in Basel, Switzerland

Haus zum Kirschgarten is a city palace built between 1775 and 1780 on Elisabethenstrasse in Basel. It was designed by architect Johann Ulrich Büchel for silk ribbon manufacturer Johann Rudolf Burckhardt. The building is the only surviving 18th-century Masonic lodge building in Switzerland, with a room layout and symbolism tied to the Strict Observance. Since 1951 it has housed the Historical Museum Basel, with around 50 exhibition rooms on five floors covering Basel domestic culture and collections of clocks, scientific instruments, silver and toys.

Johann Ulrich Büchel built this palace between 1775 and 1780 for silk ribbon manufacturer Johann Rudolf Burckhardt as both a home and business premises. The building was constructed when Basel was strengthening its position as a trading center and wealthy merchants expressed their status through grand architecture.

The house was built for Johann Rudolf Burckhardt, who joined Basel's A Libertate/Zur Freiheit lodge at 18. Its plan and symbolism were meant to serve a Helvetic national lodge under the Strict Observance, linked to the Templar legend. When Basel's two lodges closed in 1784, that purpose ended. Today the Historical Museum uses the rooms for displays on 18th- and 19th-century Basel domestic culture.

The museum occupies five floors of the palace and the adjoining Haus zum kleinen Kirschgarten, with around 50 exhibition rooms covering some 2600 m². The entrance is at Elisabethenstrasse 27. The permanent displays on 18th- and 19th-century Basel domestic culture are on the upper floors, so allow time for the stairs.

This was not just a residence but also the business headquarters of a wealthy silk ribbon manufacturer, showing how closely trade and family life were connected in the 18th century. This combined function as both home and workplace has been preserved in its original form to this day.