A museum is an institution established to preserve historical
artifacts among other products of historical, scientific, cultural, and
artistic importance. The idea of preserving items of cultural and
historical significance started thousands of years ago, and the oldest
museum built by the Babylonians more than 2,500 years ago was discovered
by Leonard Wooley.
These institutions avail the preserved artifacts to
the public for viewing through thier temporary or permanent exhibitions
all over the world. The following are some of the oldest museums in the
world.
9. Indian Museum
The Indian Museum is the oldest and largest institution in India with
numerous rare collections of mummies, skeletons, ornaments, armor,
Mughal paintings, and antiques. The idea of developing a historical
organization in India began in 1796 when the members of Asiatic society
decided to set up a place where the natural and human-made collections
could be displayed. Therefore, the Indian government gave the society
accommodations in Chowringhee-park street region. Nathaniel Wallich, a
Botanist, helped Bengal Asiatic society develop the museum in 1814. The
curators divided the collection in the museum into six sections with 35
galleries of scientific and cultural artifacts including economic
botany, art, geology, Archaeology, anthropology, and Zoology.
8. Louvre Museum
Located in Paris, the Louvre is a historical
monument and the most toured art museum in the world. The museum houses
over
35,000 items on display from the pre-historic era. The museum was built
on 60,600 square feet of land and is considered to be the landmark of
Paris. Philip
II built this palace as a fortress during the late 12th century, but
later the monarch converted it into the home of the French king in 1546.
The museum
opened their doors on August 10, 1793, with a collection of 573
paintings. The
collections increased during Napoleon’s reign, but the artifacts seized
during
this era were later returned to the owners after his reign ended.
7. Belvedere Palace
The palace of the Habsburg Royal family in Vienna, Austria opened
their doors to the public in 1781. The Belvedere Palace is a historical
complex with two Baroque Palaces (the Lower and Upper), the palace
stables, and the Orangery. The Belvedere is located in the Baroque park
landscape in the 3rd Vienna district. This institution houses the most
extensive collection of paintings by Gustav Klint. The museum ranks
among the most significant and beautiful museums in the world. Belvedere
houses the biggest collection of the Austrian art from the Middle Ages
to the present.
6. Kunstkamera
Established by Peter the Great in 1717 and opened in 1727 in Kikin
Halls, the Kunstkamera is the first museum in Russia with over 200,000
items on display. The Kunstkamera is situated in St Petersburg on
Universitetskaya Embankment overlooking the Winter Palace. The name
Kunstkamera was derived from the German term kunstkammer which
means the "art chamber". This establishment hosts a collection dedicated
to preserving the human and natural rarities and oddities.
5. Hermitage Museum
Located in St Petersburg, Russia, Hermitage Museum is the most
significant art and culture institution in the world. Hermitage museum
opened its doors to the public in 1852. Hermitage was started when
Empress Catherine purchased a unique painting collection from Johann
Ernst, a Berlin merchant, in 1764. Hermitage museum has over three
million collections of artifacts and arts of different cultures. Among
the artifacts are sculptures, graphic works, applied arts, numismatic
materials, and numerous archaeological findings. The museum celebrates
its anniversary during St Catharine’s day on December 7, every year.
4. Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon
The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon (Museum of Fine
Arts and Archeology) in Besançon, France is the oldest museum of
fine-arts and archeology in the country. The museum was opened in 1694
after Jean Baptiste contributed his collection to the city. The curators
divided the artifacts in this institution into three categories:
drawing, painting, and archaeology. The archaeology section has the
Egyptian collections, the mummies of Seramon, and a crucial archaeology
collection belonging to the Gallo-roman era. The painting section
displays the evolution of art in Europe from the 14th to the 20th
centuries. The museum houses one of the biggest drawing cabinets in the
world, thanks to the 5,500 art contributions from different European art
schools. The drawing cabinets features artworks which were drawn as
early as the 15th century.
3. Amerbach Cabinet
Listed as one of Switzerland's heritage sites of national significance, the Kunstmuseum
Basel museum is the home of the Amerbach Cabinet. The origin of the
Museum dates back to 1661 when the city of Basel purchased the Amerbach
Cabinet, a collection of works by Hans Holbein, making it the first municipally-owned and public museum. The
museum has collections from early 15th century to the present. The
museum has collections of drawings and paintings ranging from the 15th
to 17th centuries, and other works of art from the 19th to 21st
centuries.
2. Royal Armouries
Located in the Tower of London in the United
Kingdom, the Royal Armories is the oldest museum in Britain. The Tower of
London houses the most extensive collection of armories in the world, which
served as the earliest attractions to specific visitors who paid for the
privilege to view the Royal collection. The museum opened their doors to the
public in 1660. The armories were later divided and placed in three different
locations across Britain with the primary aim of building museums in West
Yorkshire, Leeds, and the Victorian Fort in Portsmouth.
1. Capitoline Museums
Located in the Plazza Del Campidoglio on Rome's Capitoline Hill, this
museum has a collection of archeological exhibitions and beautiful art.
The history of the Capitoline Museums dates back to 1471 when Pope
Sixtus IV contributed a set of his critical prehistoric bronzes to Rome
and placed them on Capitoline Hill. Later numerous ancient Roman
inscriptions, statues, a set of renaissance and medieval art, coin
collections, and jewels, among other items were added to the
pre-historic bronze. The Capitoline Museums was the first museum in the
world to open their door to the public viewing in 1734. Currently, the
institution is owned and managed by the municipality of Rome.
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