Museums, as we know, are houses of treasured artifacts that are of historical, scientific or cultural importance. The articles conserved are the priceless possessions of any museum. A popular museum will be known for the quantum and worth of the articles it preserves. Other aspects like architecture, location and, cultural and historical value of a museum are taken into consideration while assessing its popularity and worth. On the basis of these aspects, here are the most popular and noteworthy museums from around the world.
1. Le louvre, Paris, France
Paris is one of the most adored places of the world with a number of historical sites. It hosts the best known and the most visited museum of the world- Le louvre. It was originally the fortress and palace of medieval kings of France, until the 19th century. Le louvre was inaugurated in the August of 1793, displaying 537 paintings. As of today, it holds about 35000 objects which are centuries old. The museum has a glass pyramidal structure at the entrance, which brings together the scattered parts of the palace. The objects include preserves dated since ancient times till the early 19th century. The “Sully Wing” is the heart of this museum. World renowned collections like the “Mona Lisa”, “Venus de Milo”, and “Winged Victory of Samothrace” are found here. A tour to Paris is complete only if you make it to this timeless museum.
2. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
Russia is hardly popular for its artistic attractions. One of the few such attraction centres in Russia is the State Hermitage Museum at St. Petersburg. It conserves over three million inestimable articles dating back from the Old Stone Age till the early 20th century. The museum consists of exemplary works of da Vinci, Picasso, Gauguin, van Gogh, Goya, Cézanne, Titian, Tiepolo and many more. The prime attractions of this museum include the Treasure Gallery’s Gold rooms which present golden masterpieces from Eurasia, the Black Sea Littoral in antiquity and the Orient.
3. The British Museum, London, England
This museum, embraces archaeology and ethnography and is the largest of its kind. It showcases over eight million objects varying from prehistoric bone leftovers to some chunks of Athens’ Pertheon. Others such as the Assyrian palace rooms and exquisite gold jewels are some of the noteworthy insights of this museum. The Egyptian gallery at the British Museum portrays the world’s second finest assortment of Egyptian antiquities found outside Egypt. It includes the famous Rosetta stone, chiselled in 196 B.C.
4. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece
The highlight of this museum lies with its “Gallery of Slopes” at the ground floor. A transparent slope of glass covering, gives a spectacular view of the excavations preserved underneath. Findings from the sanctuaries, smaller shrines and settlements developed on the slopes of Acropolis are showcased here. Yet another important attraction is the frieze of Parthenon which is fixed on a structure that replicates the dimensions of the Cella of Parthenon. An exclusive feature of the Acropolis museum is that, it lets the visitors take views from all dimensions for every object preserved as they are displayed open.
5. Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Rome
The Vatican museums are located on the borders of the Vatican City, founded by Pope Julius II. The “Collection of Modern Religious Art” at the Vatican museums, boasts the artistic works of painters and sculptors like Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico. There is this group of Sculpture museums which house around 800 awe-inspiring sculpted works of over 250 world renowned artists. Several other sections like the Tapestries, Chapel of Nicholas V, Minature Mosaics and Ceramics, here in the Vatican Museums, are adorable and worth a visit.
