Mongolia: A Journey through Time, on show at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, from late last month until February 22, 2026 is a major international exhibition that traces Mongolian history, nomadic traditions, cultural life and the country’s path to urbanization. The show brings centuries-old traditions and the rise of modern Mongolian cities together under a single concept.
On the Mongolian side, the Chinggis Khaan National Museum was the lead partner, responsible for transporting, protecting and researching the priceless artifacts loaned from Mongolia in line with international standards. The Swiss research and curatorial work was led by Alix von Przychowski, senior researcher at the Rietberg Museum, and Johannes Beltz, the museum’s deputy director and Curator of South and South East Asian Art.
Both experts have long focused on Mongolian cultural heritage and have built a sustained collaboration with the Chinggis Khaan National Museum team. The exhibition is a major outcome of their joint research: Mongolia supplied artifacts, archival material and research reports, while the Swiss team developed the concept, organization and an exhibition space that conforms to international curatorial standards.
On November 15, Przychowski and Beltz led a special curatorial tour of the exhibition, explaining the history behind individual objects, outlining the research that underpins them, and revealing interpretive details not previously shared with the public. Visitors from around the world were able to ask questions directly and hear detailed professional commentary from the curators themselves.
Curator-led tours like this are rare: they open “closed” archival information and lesser-known corners of the show to the public.
A second specialist event is planned at the Rietberg Museum on the 13th of next month. That tour, led by the exhibition’s design team, including architects, lighting designers and graphic designers, will explore the “inner mechanisms” of the exhibition: how the original concept developed, how architecture, lighting, color, sound and film choices were made, and which technical and creative solutions shaped the physical and emotional experience of the space. The tour will be conducted in English and will explain how contemporary Mongolian artists’ work is woven into the exhibition’s narrative.
Together, these events make Mongolia: A Journey through Time more than a display of objects: they turn it into a multilayered study of Mongolian history, culture and social transformation viewed from a global perspective.
The collaboration between the Chinggis Khaan National Museum and the Rietberg Museum provides an important bridge for presenting Mongolian cultural heritage in Europe. Thanks to the long-term research partnership between Przychowski and Beltz, the exhibition presents not only historical artifacts but also the intersections of urbanization, social change, tradition and innovation in modern Mongolia.
Mongolia: A Journey through Time, on show at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, from late last month until February 22, 2026 is a major international exhibition that traces Mongolian history, nomadic traditions, cultural life and the country’s path to urbanization. The show brings centuries-old traditions and the rise of modern Mongolian cities together under a single concept.
On the Mongolian side, the Chinggis Khaan National Museum was the lead partner, responsible for transporting, protecting and researching the priceless artifacts loaned from Mongolia in line with international standards. The Swiss research and curatorial work was led by Alix von Przychowski, senior researcher at the Rietberg Museum, and Johannes Beltz, the museum’s deputy director and Curator of South and South East Asian Art.
Both experts have long focused on Mongolian cultural heritage and have built a sustained collaboration with the Chinggis Khaan National Museum team. The exhibition is a major outcome of their joint research: Mongolia supplied artifacts, archival material and research reports, while the Swiss team developed the concept, organization and an exhibition space that conforms to international curatorial standards.
On November 15, Przychowski and Beltz led a special curatorial tour of the exhibition, explaining the history behind individual objects, outlining the research that underpins them, and revealing interpretive details not previously shared with the public. Visitors from around the world were able to ask questions directly and hear detailed professional commentary from the curators themselves.
Curator-led tours like this are rare: they open “closed” archival information and lesser-known corners of the show to the public.
A second specialist event is planned at the Rietberg Museum on the 13th of next month. That tour, led by the exhibition’s design team, including architects, lighting designers and graphic designers, will explore the “inner mechanisms” of the exhibition: how the original concept developed, how architecture, lighting, color, sound and film choices were made, and which technical and creative solutions shaped the physical and emotional experience of the space. The tour will be conducted in English and will explain how contemporary Mongolian artists’ work is woven into the exhibition’s narrative.
Together, these events make Mongolia: A Journey through Time more than a display of objects: they turn it into a multilayered study of Mongolian history, culture and social transformation viewed from a global perspective.
The collaboration between the Chinggis Khaan National Museum and the Rietberg Museum provides an important bridge for presenting Mongolian cultural heritage in Europe. Thanks to the long-term research partnership between Przychowski and Beltz, the exhibition presents not only historical artifacts but also the intersections of urbanization, social change, tradition and innovation in modern Mongolia.