British museum in London is one of the oldest and largest historical museums in the world, an actively visited tourist attraction, which contains unique artifacts and artistic masterpieces from all over the world. We will tell you about the history of the museum, its secrets, exhibitions, library and how you can get there on your own.

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The basis of the museum's exhibitions were the private collections of three well-known personalities in society, who transferred their collections to the newly formed state historical and archaeological museum. The act of its creation was approved by the British Parliament in 1753. The first baronet, president of the scientific Royal Society Hans Sloan, being a keen collector, collected many different natural wonders, which later became priceless rarities of the British Museum.

Antiquarian and bibliomaniac Robert Cotton, who collected a large number of manuscripts and books, made a significant contribution to the creation of museum funds: the collection of his manuscripts became the basis of an entire department, which later became the British Library.

Oxford Earl, politician, public figure Robert Harley, who was friends with Swift and Pope, had an interest in ancient books and manuscripts. All his life he was a passionate collector of book rarities, which were donated to the museum and significantly expanded its holdings. The names of these public figures are revered sacred by the British; their biographies are studied in schools and universities, and special sections of museum exhibitions are devoted to them.

At first, the museum was located in the Montague mansion in the Bloomsbury area, but it quickly began to be replenished with new exhibits, which were already cramped within the confines of one building. During the Victorian reign, a colossal classical building was built, which still houses the museum.

Secrets of the Museum

No museum in the world has as many mysterious exhibits, over the origin and history of which archaeologists and ethnologists are puzzling, as there are in the British Museum. Among them are many priceless artifacts that played an invaluable role in the study of ancient civilizations that left significant traces on our planet in the form Egyptian pyramids, giants of Easter Island and other unique creatures. By using modern technologies employees can accurately determine the time of creation of artifacts, their location, establish their true original appearance, and the nationality of the person depicted in the sculpture. LED bulbs They even help to find out the color of already faded paints.

The storage facilities maintain a constant temperature, which promotes high-quality preservation of rarities. Museum scientists organize expeditions to excavation sites from which objects from bygone eras were recovered and carefully explore the areas again, deepening and expanding them. Many secrets of the life of the past of ancient states were revealed here, thanks to the research of unique artifacts. There are serious claims regarding the location of some of them from other states claiming the right to own them.

The Egyptians believe that the Rosetta stone should belong to them; Tajiks demand the return of the Oka treasure; China lays claim to manuscripts, paintings and other rarities from Mogao Cave. Nigerians are seeking the return of Benin bronze sculptures. The museum's exhibitions contain rare rarities representing the ancient states of Egypt, Hellas, Urartu, Elam, the Median Kingdom, India, Babylon, Mesopotamia and others. Scientist-enthusiasts and employees of the British Museum carefully examine ancient exhibits, unraveling the secrets of the past captured in them, thereby making an invaluable contribution to the history of the development of society.

Exhibitions

Artifacts of Ancient Egypt

One of the richest exhibitions of the museum, which presents the diverse history of the most developed ancient civilization. The Rosetta Stone is the most important exhibit, causing real controversy in the world over who should own it. It was he who made it possible to study Egyptian writing after the deciphering of the hieroglyphs written on it by the French orientalist Champillon, who laid the foundation for Egyptology. During Napoleonic's campaign in Egypt (1798), during excavation work during the construction of a fort, engineer Bouchard discovered a granite slab with inscriptions inscribed on it. The find was sent to Cairo, where scientists began studying the texts and realized that they were dealing with an object from the 2nd century BC. e.

The stone instantly became a priceless artifact, for the possession of which the English government made concessions and signed the Alexandrinian Truce Treaty (1801) in exchange for the ancient treasure. Thanks to the intellectual efforts of the famous Frenchman, the stone “spoke” and made it possible to subsequently learn a lot about the history of Egypt. The statues of Pharaoh Ramses II, Amonophis III, the sarcophagus of the mummy of Cleopatra - the most valuable exhibits that many museums around the world dream about, are carefully stored here and restored by the most experienced and talented craftsmen (the museum has 50 restorers on staff).

Nowhere else will you see a unique sculptural bust of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, sculpted from stone limestone, his statue and sculptural image heads carved from red granite. Total in expositions Ancient Egypt about 110 thousand objects: it is impossible to put them all on display at once in 7 thematic galleries, which accommodate only 4% of the exhibits, among them 140 mummies and funerary urns. A unique artifact is the Amarna Archive, which provides valuable historical information: 95 clay plates containing diplomatic correspondence of the pharaohs for 1350 BC. e. and giving a reliable picture of life in those years.

Greece and Rome

A department with more than 100 thousand ancient Greek and Roman exhibits, reflecting a long period of development of the two civilizations. Here are priceless rarities - evidence of the Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean cultures of the ancient Hellenes. The true treasures are:

• the rarest sculptures that decorated the Athens Parthenon
• figures of King Mausolus and Queen Artemisia
• details of a horse sculpture from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum
• Etruscan sarcophagus 2nd century. BC e. and others

Of great interest are prehistoric gold decoration(brooch), Roman sword with scabbard; frieze depicting scenes of the war between the Amazons and the Greeks.

Near East

One of the most numerous exhibitions of the museum is represented by more than 330 thousand exhibits illustrating the development of ancient civilizations, ranging from Mesopotamia to Phenicia. The funds of this department were actively replenished in the first half of the 19th century, when expeditions of English archaeologists began to be organized in Iraq (Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria, Sumer), Turkey (Karkemishe).

During the excavations, thousands of objects of culture, everyday life, ancient writing, the richest treasures with jewelry (Amur Darya treasure). The art of ancient Islam is represented by 40 thousand exhibits: products from the finest ceramics, glass, bronze, silver and gold are exhibited in 13 galleries, where 4,500 objects are simultaneously exhibited.

Values ​​of enduring global significance include:

• bas-relief decorations of the Assyrian palace of Khorasabad
• fragments of the Balavat gate from the Assyrian fortress, which depict scenes of royal life
• gold and silver jewelry of the Ahemedinian kingdom (present-day Tajikistan)
• sculptures depicting lions with human heads
• clay tablet with text telling about the global flood

All the treasures, including statues, obelisks, bas-reliefs, Board games, musical instruments, tablets with cuneiform writing, too many to count. To see even a small part of them with your own eyes, you need to come to the British Museum several times.

Ancient history and Europe

Exhibits presenting items related to to the most ancient eras development of mankind (more than 2 million years ago) and material evidence European history, and the funds of exhibits early Middle Ages Europe is the richest in the world. Among the items there are genuine prehistoric and historical jewelry values:

• cup made of gold (Ringlemere, 8-16 centuries BC)
• gold necklace (Sintra, Portugal, (10th-8th centuries BC)
• silver items (Spain, 100 BC)
• Thetford treasure – silver and gold items (4th century AD)
• gold jewelry from the Sutton Hoo treasure, found in burial crypts of the 4th-7th centuries. n. e. in England
• golden cup royal family France 14th century
• shrine made of gold, decorated with many precious stones for storing the sacred relic - the crown of thorns

There are real masterpieces of ivory carving art here: triptychs by Byzantine masters, the Englishman Grandison; 78 chess pieces carved from walrus tusks (Scotland) indicate high degree skill and artistic talent of carvers. Amazingly beautiful porcelain dishes with magnificent patterns and story paintings displayed in glass cases.

Asia

A department represented by objects of Asian culture from prehistoric times to the present: Buddhist statues, bas-reliefs (India); porcelain, bronze, jade and other precious stones, Buddhist paintings and Buddha statue (China); sculptures made of gold and silver (Indonesia, Sambas).

Africa, America, Oceania

Exhibitions with a huge ethnographic collection of objects (350 thousand copies) illustrating the life of the aborigines of these continents: Aztecs, Mayans, Incas (America), Ashanti (Ghana) and representatives of other ancient indigenous peoples. The Aztec turquoise mosaics are amazing; sculptural group from Jamaica.

A department that contains millions of exhibits representing the history of the production and use of coins in different periods human life (from the 7th century BC to the present day). All of them have high numismatic and historical value.

The exhibitions of this department contain approximately 50 thousand drawings, more than 2 million engravings and woodcuts famous artists Europe (14th century – today) from Leonardo da Vinci to modern avant-garde artists.

Drawings, lithographs, engravings, sketches, watercolors by Durer, Claude, Watt; almost 30 thousand works by English artists of the Middle Ages and modern times. An online database of 500 thousand exhibits, accompanied by high-quality illustrations, has been created.

Library

One of the largest repositories of printed and handwritten rarities in the world, with 6 reading rooms for 670 visitors. The library's collections contain almost 7 million volumes of various printed publications, 200 thousand copies of manuscripts European languages, 38 thousand - in the languages ​​of the East; 250 thousand printed books; 500 thousand geographical maps; 1 million musical notations. The reference section of science and inventions has subscriptions to almost 20 thousand scientific and technical journals. Every year the library's collections increase by 1 million items. Here everyone can find anyone literary source, piece of art or a scientific report, historical information or poetic masterpieces.

London is home to one of the largest and oldest museums world - British Museum. It is located in the historic district of Bloomsbury. It's not difficult to get to. Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, Goodge St tube stations are a few hundred meters away. and Russell Square.

Like many other art collections in England, the British Museum arose from private collection. Hans Sloan, a famous English collector of antiquities, left a will before his death, according to which a collection of 71 thousand exhibits was offered to King George II for a nominal fee. Thus, in June 1753, the English national fund was significantly replenished. Almost simultaneously with this event, Sir James Cotton donated a library to the country, and Mr. Harlane donated a unique collection of valuable manuscripts.

Based on these acquisitions, the British Museum was created. The year of his birth is considered to be 1759. It was then that the doors of the museum first opened to visitors, although preference was given to a select public. Everyone gained access to the exhibits only in 1847, when the current museum building was built.

Several years ago, in preparation for the 250th anniversary, the square exhibition halls increased significantly. Under the direction of Sir Norman Foster, an English architect, additional glass was added to the area, the galleries were updated, and a new library building was built.

Visitors to the British Museum, and there are many of them, have the opportunity to familiarize themselves free of charge with all the cultural and historical values ​​stored in the halls. The exhibits are very diverse. Here are collected the most unique masterpieces from all over the world, relics and rarities of the most different eras. 94 galleries are presented to the attention of tourists, with a total length of almost four kilometers. Thus, for detailed acquaintance it is necessary to at least, a few days. The staff of the British Museum, among other employees, includes Russian-speaking guides and... cats. The latter, flaunting yellow bows, walk importantly through the halls, protecting antiquities from the invasion of rodents.

Particularly popular among visitors are sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta Stone, and a collection of Persian gold from the 7th – 4th centuries BC. e., treasures of Sutto Ho, Greville’s mineral collection, “The Man from Lindow”.

It is impossible to assess the wealth of the British Museum today. If initially his fund consisted of specific collections, it gradually increased and was replenished through numerous donations from other collectors and patrons. Certain objects of art were purchased with parliamentary money. And although admission to the museum is free, it is considered good form to leave a donation. There are special boxes for this purpose.

Nowhere in the world are there so many museums and exhibitions as in the capital of Great Britain. Galleries and tourist sites of various types are concentrated here. Almost all of them are open to visitors every day. The streets and squares of London themselves deserve no less attention than specialized objects. After leaving the British Museum, you can stroll along Oxford Street and visit one of the famous English teahouses.

One of the most famous is the British National Museum, which belongs to, by visiting which you can get acquainted with cultural heritage ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt and many other countries that were part of the British Empire.

This museum was created in 1759, based on the private collections of the president of the English Academy of Sciences, Hans Sloan, the antiquarian Robert Cotton and Earl Robert Harley, who donated them in 1953 to the National Trust of England.

Where is the British National Museum located?

The British Museum was originally located in Montagu House, where exhibits could only be visited by a select public. But after the construction of a new building in 1847 at the same address, the British Museum became available completely free of charge to anyone. The world's most famous museum in England is located in the same place: in central region London Bloomsbury, near Garden Square, on Great Russell Street, very easily accessible by underground, regular buses or taxi.

Exhibits from the British National Museum

Thanks to archaeological excavations and donations from private collections, this moment The museum's collection includes more than 7 million exhibits, located in 94 halls, with a total length of about four kilometers. All exhibits presented in the British Museum are divided into the following departments:

1. Ancient Egypt – largest collection Egyptian culture in the world, famous for the statue of Ramses II from Thebes, sculptures of gods, stone sarcophagi, “Books of the Dead”, a large number of papyri with literary works different times and historical records, as well as the Rosetta Stone, on which the text of an ancient decree is carved.
2. Antiquities of Western Asia– exhibits from the life of the ancient peoples of the Middle East (Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, Akkad, Palestine, Ancient Iran, etc.) are presented here. Contains very interesting exhibitions: a collection of cylinder seals, monumental reliefs from Assyria and more than 150 thousand clay tablets with hieroglyphs.
3. The Ancient East– consists of a collection of sculptures, ceramics, prints and paintings from South and Southeast Asia, as well as Far East. Most famous exhibits are the head of Buddha from Gandhara, a figurine of goddess Parvati and a bronze bell.
4. Ancient Greece And Ancient Rome – introduces wonderful collections antique sculptures(especially from the Parthenon and from the sanctuary of Apollo), ancient Greek ceramics, bronze objects from the Aegean (3-2 thousand BC) and works of art from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The masterpiece of this section is the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.
5. Prehistoric Antiquities and Monuments of Roman Britain– tools are presented, ranging from the most primitive ones that existed in the Celtic tribes and ending with the era of Roman rule, a collection of bronze objects and a unique silver treasure found in Mildenhall.
6. Monuments of Europe: Middle Ages and modern times - here are collected works of decorative and applied art dating from the period from the 1st to the 19th centuries, and various knightly armor with weapons. Also in this department is the largest collection of watches
7. Numismatics– collections of coins and medals are exhibited, containing from the very first samples to modern ones. In total, this department contains over 200 thousand exhibits.
8. Engravings and drawings– introduces drawings, sketches and engravings of such famous European artists like: B. Michelangelo, S. Botticelli, Rembrandt, R. Santi and others.
9. Ethnographic– consists of objects of everyday life and culture of the peoples of America, Africa, Australia and Oceania, starting from the time of their discovery.
10. British Library- the largest library in Great Britain, its collections contain over 7 million printed publications, as well as many manuscripts, maps, notes and scientific journals. For the convenience of readers, 6 reading rooms have been created.

Thanks to the wide variety of exhibits on display, every tourist will find something interesting when visiting the British National Museum.

UK Museums. The most famous and famous museums UK cities - photos and videos, addresses, locations, websites, schedules, opening hours.

The number of museums in Britain, steeped in history, is large, and their topics are very diverse: art, science, literature, all sorts of unusual collections.

Start your acquaintance with the world culture and history of Great Britain with London, the cradle of royal dynasties. The British Museum, the pride of the British, can be considered the pearl of the country's museum heritage. This is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world: its exhibitions tell not only about the history of Great Britain - entire galleries are dedicated to Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, Mesopotamia, medieval Europe and contain interesting artifacts dating back to different eras of these ancient states.

Art

Connoisseurs of fine art will greatly enjoy visiting the UK's many galleries. Of great interest is the London National Gallery, which houses more than two thousand paintings by great artists. Western Europe, including Rembrandt and Rubens.

Other excellent art galleries are located in many cities of the kingdom, the most interesting of which are in Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester. Thus, the Leeds City Art Gallery has the status of one of best museums Great Britain. Its exhibition includes paintings by famous English artists, as well as sculptures by the famous modern master Henry Moore.

In Liverpool, don't miss The Beatles Museum.

The science

The scientific view of the world is widely covered in British museums. One of the capital's largest museums is the Natural History Museum of London, with stuffed animals and skeletons of animals, modern and prehistoric. There is a stunning exhibition on the flora of Britain, as well as an impressive collection of rocks, minerals and meteorites.

The Science Museum in London is part of the National Museum of Science and Technology complex. “Science Night” is held here: several hundred children aged 8-11 years, accompanied by their parents, spend the whole night in the museum - immersed in science in a playful way, sleep in the galleries in the galleries, and in the morning have breakfast, conduct experiments and watch movies in the format IMAX.

Literature

One of the most popular literary heroes has its own in London own museum. Every guest of the Sherlock Holmes Museum can sit at the table of the great detective, take a photo with a pipe as a souvenir, and for a moment feel like a character from their favorite books, films and TV series.

And the Shakespeare House Museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was born and lived part of his life, is a real treasure trove for his fans and one of the most beloved tourist attractions in the UK. Here you can trace how William Shakespeare developed as a playwright and actor, see the conditions in which he lived, the objects that surrounded him, and thereby for a few moments feel the closeness and immortality of this talented person. Here the Royal Shakespeare Theater appears to the attention of travelers.

Amazing collections

Great Britain is truly a treasure trove of the most incredible and extraordinary museums. For example, the Teddy Bear Museum in London, which has a fantastic collection of teddy bears, or the Witchcraft Museum in Cornwall, which contains items related to the art of magic.

Images famous people from different eras can be found at Madame Tussauds, where millions of tourists come to take pictures with the figures of their favorite actors, singers or even scandalous political figures.

A tidbit for all the curious is the Dog Collar Museum, located in Leeds Castle. The intricate accessories here are presented in the form of real objects of art, and there are truly masterpieces.

Local museums

Glasgow has one of the best in Britain art galleries, as well as the Hunterian Museum. It was founded by anatomist William Hunter and initially consisted of a collection of scientific instruments and instruments of famous doctors and scientists. The tireless Hunter expanded his collection and included the most various items: paintings by local artists, artifacts from Ancient Egypt, traces of Roman rule in Scotland, one of the world's largest coin collections.

The pride of Belfast is the Ulster Museum, which contains exhibits related to natural history, zoology, ethnography and archaeology. Cardiff is located National Museum Wales, consisting of exhibits on different topics: archaeology, geology, art, botany and zoology.

And in the town of Keswick, where graphite was mined several centuries ago, the Pencil Museum is now open. Here you can not only view the exhibition, but also take drawing lessons and purchase luxury stationery in a huge store.

Fans of extreme sports have a direct route to the city of Inverness, where the famous Loch Ness is located - perhaps they will be able to see the famous monster Nessie with their own eyes.

One of the most major museums The planet is located in the very center of England. The Central British Museum in London began its existence in 1753. It was then that the English Parliament was destroyed. More than 90 museum galleries extend over a distance of 4 kilometers. The main exhibitions are considered huge collections famous people of Great Britain: Earl Robert Harley, doctor Hans Sloan and antiquarian Robert Cotton. By the way, Cotton’s collection of books served as the basis for the creation of the British National Library.

Development of the British Museum in London

Despite the fact that the museum was founded in 1953, people had the opportunity to visit for the first time only 6 years later. It was originally located in Bloomsberry, where Montagu House was located. Every year the museum was replenished with various valuable exhibits brought to England from all over the world. globe. There are also exhibits in the collection that were not acquired in the most honest way. Thus, ancient statues of Greece and Egypt were taken out of the countries by illegal means.

The development of the museum was especially noticeable in the 19th century. Then all collections were distributed into departments. Some of them were even transported to South Kensington. From 1823 to 1847 there was a gradual demolition of Montague House. But in its place a modern building was erected to store collections. At the beginning of the 20th century, large excavations took place in Mesopotamia, thanks to which the museum’s collections were significantly replenished with exhibits from the Middle East.

British Museum in London today

Today this museum is extremely popular. Excursions take place here regularly. “Night at the Museum” takes place 4 times a year. At this event, people are near the exhibits all night, listening educational stories and play games. Each of the “nights at the museum” has a specific theme. For example, “Egyptian Night”. It was Egypt that brought one of the largest exhibitions to the museum. This state here occupies almost a hundred meters.

What is in the British Museum London?

As stated above, Egyptian collection occupies the largest place in the museum. Here you can look at ancient statues of pharaohs and rulers of Egypt. In addition, a person risks seeing stone sarcophagi, manuscripts on ancient papyrus papers, including myths, works and documentation. There is also a rare old exhibit here – the Book of the Dead. It is decorated with ancient inscriptions, miniatures and pictures.

A rather large collection from Rome and Greece. It occupies as many as 12 halls. Among the exhibits you can see ancient manuscripts, monuments and figurines, as well as parts of a temple located in ancient times. There is also a room with jewelry and stones.

In the eastern section there are ancient exhibitions Ancient East and South Asia. So, among the exhibits you can see Buddha statues, ancient scriptures and jewelry. Some of the museum exhibits date back to 2 thousand years BC.

The museum has a department related to more modern life. This includes work famous artists, writers and architects. These are mainly exhibits from the late 18th – early 19th centuries.

Huge library

One should not neglect the fact that the British Museum in London is also a kind of library. However, you cannot take books home here, but you can look at the works with your own eyes. The entire collection of books and manuscripts reaches several million. There are also ancient documents, maps, books and much more. It is noteworthy that many exhibits are in several copies, namely on different languages. In total, the collection occupies 6 large reading rooms with seats for readers.

How to get there?

There are several ways to get to the museum:

• Metro;
• Bus;
• Taxi.

In the first case, you will need to get to one of the stations: Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square or Holborn. The fare will cost about 2 pounds if you pay with a special smart card. Traveling in cash costs 2 times more.

In principle, you need to go by bus and taxi to the same metro stations, but the fare will cost more. By taxi - over 2 pounds per mile, and by bus 2.5 pounds in cash.

The exact address of the British Museum in London is: WC1B 3DG, London, Great Russell Street. The museum is open from 10 a.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. However, on Thursdays and Fridays, many departments are open until 20:30. It is noteworthy that entrance to the museum is free! You can book an excursion to the British Museum.