Technically speaking, the world's oldest known museum was established more than 2,500 years ago. It was recognised by a Babylonian princess that it was important not only to preserve artwork and artefacts for future generations but also to display them to the general people so that they might view the evidence left behind by those who came before them.
While this museum is no longer a location where you may visit and learn from its displays, there are ten of the world's oldest museums that are still accessible to the public on a daily basis, welcoming people from all over the globe to their establishments. These museums have long been regarded as having the biggest or most important collections of artefacts from archaeological discoveries and works by renowned painters, among other things.
List of The World's Oldest Museums
Jump to:
- 10. The Vatican Museums, Italy
- 9. Capitoline Museums
- 8. Russian Federation's Hermitage Museum
- 7. Kunstkamera
- 6. The Louvre Museum
- 5. France's Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology
- 4. The Amerbach Cabinet
- 3. Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, United Kingdom
- 2. The Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria
- 1. Indian Museum
10. The Vatican Museums, Italy
Pope Julius II gave his extensive collection of sculptures to the Vatican Museums, which were thereafter cared for and shown around the city. This was the beginning of the vast network of museums that now exists inside Vatican City.
This occurred in 1506 AD, and today, these museums house the world's most comprehensive collection of art from the Middle Ages to the present day, most of it of fundamental significance to the Roman Catholic religion, all housed in a single building.
9. Capitoline Museums
The Capitoline Museums, located beyond the walls of the Vatican City in the city of Rome, were established for the first time in 1471. It was around this time that Pope Sixtus IV generously gave his extensive collection of ancient bronze artefacts, which he and his predecessors had amassed over many decades.
It wasn't until 1734, however, that the museums were officially opened to the public for the first time. Contemporary-day Capitoline Museums, like modern museums, are owned and administered by the city of Rome, and like modern museums, they rotate exhibits of certain relics or works of art on a regular basis.
8. Russian Federation's Hermitage Museum
In St. Petersburg, Russia, there are many museums, including two that are among the world's most popular museums. The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, is often regarded as having the world's most important collection of objects essential to both art and culture. It originally opened its doors in 1852, and now it is home to more than 3 million items that have been gathered from different civilizations all around the globe throughout the years.
Archaeological finds to the most up-to-date graphic artworks are all on display at this location. Every year on December 7th, the museum commemorates the anniversary of its founding with a gift of artefacts from the St. Catherine's Foundation. Indeed, there are a number of neglected locations across Russia that may be just as magnificent as the art homes housed inside this city's museums.
7. Kunstkamera
Kunstkamera, the other museum in St. Petersburg that is considered to be one of the world's oldest, is also located in the city. The term derives from the German word kunstkammer, which literally translates as "art chamber." Prussian emperor Peter the Great donated the museum's initial item, which has since grown to include more than 200,000 objects.
It was only ten years after his generous gift that the doors of the museum were opened to the public.
6. The Louvre Museum
This Paris museum is not only the most well-known and visited museum in the world, but it is also the most visited museum in the world. Many visitors to the city make a point of taking a photo in front of the museum's iconic glass pyramid.
This museum, on the other hand, is not just well-known from the exterior. A number of history's most famous pieces of art, like the venus de milo by Alexandros of Antioch, the Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, and the Great Sphinx of Tanis, which dates back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom, may be found in the Louvre. It's unlikely that you'll come across any phoney artefacts in the Louvre, such as ones that have been discovered at this other French museum.
5. France's Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology
The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archeologie de Besancon is the name given to the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Besancon, France, which means "Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology." It was the renowned painter Jean Baptiste who contributed a significant collection of his own work in 1694 to help get the museum off the ground and operating. Today, this museum is the oldest in France and one of the most popular museums in the world, according to National Geographic.
Not only does it have a vast collection of paintings and drawings, but it also has a number of archaeological displays to offer visitors.
4. The Amerbach Cabinet
The Amerbach Cabinet was purchased by the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661, and it is today recognised as one of Switzerland's cultural treasures. A significant collection of drawings and paintings is on display at the museum, which is owned by the city of Basel, which is constantly adding to its extensive collection.
By purchasing the museum, the city made history by becoming the first museum in the world to be owned by a municipality rather than a royal family, a person, or an organisation. The Amerbach Cabinet is home to a large number of works by Hans Holbein, many of which are on display.
3. Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, United Kingdom
The Tower of London used to be the site of a huge museum, which was not only the oldest museum in the United Kingdom but also one of the oldest museums in the world, according to some estimates. This museum, which first opened its doors to the public in 1660, served as an additional attraction for visitors who came to see the Crown Jewels if they were on exhibit at the time.
It has now been divided into three distinct museums, one of which is located in the Victorian Fort at Portsmouth, another in Leeds, and a third in West Yorkshire. No matter whether the armouries are grouped together at the Tower of London or kept separate, this museum is home to the biggest and most ancient collection of armouries in the world.
2. The Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria
The Habsburg Royal Family formerly resided at the Belvedere Palace, which is now a museum. It was established as a public museum in 1781 and is widely regarded as the repository of the world's most comprehensive collection of Gustav Klint's works. Whether the building itself or the collection of buildings, the Guggenheim is considered to be one of the most beautiful structures on the planet, and it is highly respected for both its exterior architecture and the priceless exhibits that can be found inside its walls.
The collections, which are mostly of Austrian art, stretch back to the Middle Ages, and there are even some exhibitions by contemporary artists.
1. Indian Museum
It took several years for the Bengal Asiatic Society to eventually build its museum on land that had been granted by the government for that specific reason many years earlier.
Mummy and skeleton exhibits, antiquities, and armour from throughout the centuries are all on show at this museum, which is located on Chowringhee-Park Street in Kolkata, India. The museum is devoted to exhibiting art and artefacts significant to the people of India.
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