Afghanistan Museum

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Afghanistan Museum

The Afghanistan Museum in the Swiss town of Bubendorf was a museum that existed from 1999 to 2006 , in which cultural assets from the National Museum of the Afghan capital Kabul were temporarily stored and exhibited in order to protect them from being destroyed by military conflicts. It was created with the consent of all conflict parties involved in the Afghan civil war , in particular the United Front and the Taliban , after the National Museum in Kabul was plundered several times during the civil war. The temporary establishment of a museum for the safe custody of cultural assets from another country is considered to be a unique project in the world.

Historical information

The inaugural meeting of the museum took place on May 1, 1999, and the exhibition opened to the public on October 7 of the following year. The museum building was designed through voluntary work by Swiss citizens and Afghans in exile, and the costs of around 1.5 million Swiss francs were financed through donations. The Afghanistan Institute, also located in Bubendorf, was responsible for the technical support of the museum.

In addition to exhibits from the National Museum, other art treasures and objects from everyday life in Afghanistan were shown in the Afghanistan Museum thanks to donations from private donors. The exhibition, which was spread over two floors, consisted of 20 showcases with around 1,400 objects. Some of the cultural assets were also kept in a salvage room that was not accessible to the public .

On October 14, 2006, the museum was closed after a closing event , as the Afghan authorities had asked for the repatriation of the cultural property two years earlier and the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) approved this after a security review. The return transport took place in March 2007 with the support of the German Air Force . During the time of its existence, the museum was visited by around 50,000 people.

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