The area called Helvetiaplatz is home to a number of museums, the pick of which is probably the Historisches Museum Bern . Tapestries, diptychs and other world treasures vividly illustrate Bernese history from the Stone Age to the 20th century in a building that resembles a fairy-tale castle from a distance. Part of the history museum is devoted to a superb permanent exhibition on Einstein.
The Schweizerisches Alpines Museum outlines the history of Alpine mountaineering and cartography with the help of impressive relief maps, while the Naturhistorisches Museum features the famous moth-eaten and taxidermied remains of Barry, a St Bernard rescue dog. Also in the neighbourhood is the Museum für Kommunikation , housing items from antique phones and stamps to electronic communication devices.
