British Museum: photos and reviews of tourists. British Museum in London: exhibits

London is a city where many museums, exhibitions, galleries and other cultural sites are concentrated that attract tourists from all over the world. The British Museum is one of those places visited by millions of people. It is the second in the world in terms of the number of exhibits after. 94 galleries with a total length of 4 kilometers - that's what awaits everyone who wants to visit this cultural attraction in London.

History and architecture of the British Museum

The history of the British Museum began with a private collection of artifacts. The English physician Hans Sloan, who was also a well-known collector of antiquities, traveler and naturalist, made a will during his lifetime. It said that, for a completely nominal fee, he was handing over his exhibits to King George II. At that time, the collection consisted of more than 70,000 items.

The British museum was founded on June 7, 1753 by a special act of Parliament. Subsequently, it was the Parliament that acquired exhibits from collectors in order to replenish the museum's fund. By the opening of the museum, the Harley library and the Cotton library were replenished. And in 1757 the Royal Library joined the collections. Among the exhibits were real literary treasures, including the only surviving copy of Beowulf.

In 1759, the British Museum was officially opened to the public at Montagu House. But not everyone could get here, but only the elite. For mass visits, the British museum became available almost 100 years later, but more on that later.

At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, the museum bought out a collection of antique Hamilton vases, Greville's minerals, marbles from Lord Elgin's Parthenon, which to this day are a real gem of the exposition. An important role in the development of the British Museum was played by the Anglo-Egyptian war, as a result of which Egypt became one of the protectorates of Great Britain. At this time, many antiquities, works of art and treasures were taken out of Egypt, and this was done illegally.

The collection grew and there was a need to divide the museum into themes. But every year the place became less and less. In 1823, work began on the construction of a separate building for exhibits. The architect of the British Museum was Robert Smerk, who conceived the project in neo-Greek style. The peculiarity of the building is 44 Ionic columns on the south facade.

Construction lasted a little over 30 years, and in 1847 the doors of the British museum opened to the general public. The pediment of the museum was built in the 1850s by Sir Richard Westmacott. Initially, the pediment was supposed to have numbers demonstrating the "Progress of Civilization" - now this idea seems old-fashioned. But the architect decided to portray progress in a different way. If you look closely, then in the far left corner you will see an uneducated person coming out from behind a rock. He studies things like sculpture, music and poetry, becoming "civilized". All objects are personified and represented by human figures. From left to right: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Science, Geometry, Drama, Music and Poetry.

But the work on the project did not stop there - in 1857 the Great Courtyard was built, where the Round Reading Room was located in the center.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the museum had many exhibits brought from the Middle East, which was the result of archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia. Later, some collections were separated into the Museum of Natural History, and in 1972 the British Library also broke away, leaving reminders of itself in the form of the aforementioned reading room. In 2000, architect Norman Foster redecorated a number of rooms, and also built a glass roof over the Courtyard.

Today, the collection of the British Museum has 13 million items. Of course, to see them all, one visit is not enough. But the fact that this attraction cannot be ignored is unequivocal.

Sections of the British Museum and their famous exhibits

The British museum is divided into 6 themes that combine archaeological and cultural objects from different countries and periods:

Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Here you can see the largest collection of sarcophagi and mummies (including the mummy of Cleopatra), the obelisk of Pharaoh Nectaneb II, the mathematical papyrus of Ahmes, 382 and 95 tablets of the Amarna archive, a fragment of the Sphinx's beard and the famous Rozzet stone (a stone slab on which three identical texts are engraved, one in ancient Greek and two in ancient Egyptian, one written in demotic script and the other in hieroglyphs).

Africa, East and South Asia, Oceania, Mesoamerica

These halls contain Benin bronzes, the Diamond Sutra, the Book of Fortune-telling, Kanishka's stupas, a collection of Chinese porcelain (Percival David Foundation), an ancient Chinese scroll of "Instructions of the Senior Court Lady".

The Ancient East

Those who are interested in the culture and archeology of the East will be very interested in visiting this exposition. Among the numerous exhibits there is a cylinder of Cyrus, a prism of Sennacherib, decorations of the priestess Shubad, paired figurines of "Sheep in the thicket" 4500 years ago, a collection of bas-reliefs, the Balavat gate of Shalmaneser III.

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

Here are the most interesting exhibits, among which are fragments of the excavations of the Palace of Knossos, fragments of the frieze of the temple of Nike Apteros, the frieze of the temple of Apollo in Bassae, the Warren Cup, the Portland vase, Elgin marbles from the Acropolis.

UK and Europe

Here are the gold goblet of Charles V, the cape from Mold, the Franks box, chess from the Isle of Lewis, Fuller's brooches, the Anglo-Saxon treasures and the Lindow man - the remains of a man who died in the Iron Age.

Graphics and engraving

The gallery features such famous engravings as Goya's The Disasters of War, graphic drawings by Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, William Blake, Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt.

Information for visitors: where is it located, opening hours and how much is the entrance fee

British Museum address: Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG.

Nearest bus stop: Montague Street (Stop L).

Nearest metro stations: Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square, Holborn.

Entrance to the British Museum: free, except for guest exposures. There are donation boxes in the museum, where tourists drop one or two pounds to the museum fund.

Schedule: the museum is open daily from 10:00 to 17:30, on Fridays from 10:00 to 20:30. Some galleries may be closed without prior notice.

It is better to learn more about the work schedule of the halls and temporary exhibitions on the official website.

On the territory of the British Museum there is a gift shop and two cafes where you can have a bite to eat after a long walk through the galleries.

Half an hour's walk from the British museum is located, which every guest of the city should also see. To have time to get acquainted with the capital of Great Britain, you need to stay here for at least a week. In our catalog are presented - most of them are within walking distance from the main attractions.

British Museum on London map

London is a city where many museums, exhibitions, galleries and other cultural sites are concentrated that attract tourists from all over the world. The British Museum is one of those places visited by millions of people. It is the second in the world in terms of the number of exhibits after. 94 galleries with a total length of 4 kilometers..." />

Quote message British Museum in London / British Museum. London

British Museum in London / British Museum. London

British Museum- the main historical and archaeological museum of the British Empire (now - Great Britain) and one of the largest museums in the world, the second most visited among art museums, after the Louvre.

Located in Bloomsbury, London.

British museum was created in 1753 on the basis of three collections– collections of a famous British physician and naturalist Hans Sloan, graph collections Robert Harley, as well as antiquary libraries Robert Cotton which became the foundation of the British Library.

1st Baronet, President of the Scientific Royal Society Hans Sloan, being an enthusiastic collector, collected many different curiosities of natural origin, which later became priceless rarities in the British Museum.

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

Earl of Oxford, 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, transferred to the museum and significantly replenished its funds.

The names of these public figures are sacredly revered by the British; their biographies are studied in schools and universities, special sections of museum expositions are devoted to them.

Courtyard of the British Museum, covered with a mesh shell

The museum was originally located in Montagu Mansion in Bloomsbury, but began to quickly replenish with new exhibits, which were already cramped within the framework of one building. During the years of Victorian rule, a colossal classical building was built, which now houses the museum.

Exhibitions of the British Museum

Artifacts of Ancient Egypt

One of the richest expositions of the museum, which presents the diverse history of the most advanced ancient civilization. The Rosetta Stone is the most important exhibit, causing a real controversy in the world about who should own it. It was he who allowed the study of Egyptian writing after deciphering the hieroglyphs printed on it by the French orientalist Champillon, who laid the foundation for Egyptology.

During the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt (1798), during the excavation work during the construction of the fort, engineer Bouchard discovered a granite slab with inscriptions inscribed on it. The find was sent to Cairo, where scientists began to study the texts and realized that they were dealing with an object of the 2nd century BC. e.

rosetta stone in display case

The stone instantly became a priceless artifact, for the possession of which the government of England made concessions and signed the Alexandrinsky Treaty of the Armistice (1801) in exchange for the ancient treasure. Thanks to the intellectual efforts of the famous Frenchman, the stone “spoke” and made it possible to learn a lot about the history of Egypt in the future.

The statues of Pharaoh Ramses II, Amonofis III, the sarcophagus of the mummy of Cleopatra - the most valuable exhibits that many museums around the world dream of, are carefully stored here, restored by the most experienced and talented craftsmen (there are 50 restorers on the staff of the museum).

Nowhere else can you see the unique sculptural bust of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, sculpted from stone limestone, his statue and the sculptural image of the head, carved from red granite. In total, there are about 110 thousand items in the expositions of Ancient Egypt: it is impossible to put them all at once for viewing in 7 thematic galleries, which contain only 4% of the exhibits, among them 140 mummies and burial urns.

A unique artifact is the Amarna archive, which provides valuable historical information: 95 clay plates containing the diplomatic correspondence of the pharaohs for 1350 BC. e. and giving a reliable picture of the life of those years.

Greece and Rome

The department, which has 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:

• rare sculptures that adorned the Athenian Parthenon
• part of the Erechtheion temple column
• figures of King Mausolus and Queen Artemisia
• details of a sculpture of a horse from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
• Etruscan sarcophagus, 2nd c. BC e. and others

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

ancient greek clasp

Near East

One of the largest expositions of the museum is represented by more than 330 thousand exhibits illustrating the development of ancient civilizations, from Mesopotamia to Phoenicia. 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 on the territory of Iraq (Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria, Sumer), Turkey (Karkemish).

During the excavations, thousands of objects of culture, everyday life, ancient literature, the richest treasures with jewelry (Amurdarya treasure) were discovered.

The art of ancient Islam is represented by 40 thousand exhibits: products made of the finest ceramics, glass, bronze, silver and gold are exhibited in 13 galleries, where 4500 items are exhibited at the same time.

The values ​​of enduring global significance include:

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

All treasures, including statues, obelisks, bas-reliefs, board games, musical instruments, cuneiform tablets, cannot be counted. To see with your own eyes even a small part of them, you need to repeatedly come to the British Museum.

Ancient history and Europe

Expositions representing objects related to the most ancient eras of human development (more than 2 million years ago) and material evidence of European history, and the funds of exhibits of the early Middle Ages in Europe are the richest in the world.

Among the items there are genuine prehistoric and historical jewelry values:

• goblet of gold (Ringlemer, 8-16 centuries BC)
• gold necklace (Sintra, Portugal, (10-8 centuries BC)
• silverware (Spain, 100 BC)
• Thetford treasure - silver and gold items (4th century AD)
• gold jewelry from the Sutton Hoo hoard, found in burial vaults of the 4th-7th centuries. n. e. in England
• gold goblet of the French royal family of the 14th century
• cancer of gold, adorned with many precious stones to store 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 figures carved from the tusks of a walrus (Scotland) testify to the high degree of skill and artistic talent of the carvers. Porcelain dishes of amazing beauty with magnificent patterns and plot paintings are exhibited in glass showcases.

crystal skull

Chess from the Isle of Lewis

- This is the main historical and archaeological museum of Great Britain and one of the largest museums in the world. It contains exhibits from many countries that were previously subject to colonial Great Britain. The British Museum can be called an unusual free entertainment for children, adults and even older visitors.

The British Museum is fun and, of course, interesting for visitors of all ages.

Address of the British Museum in London

Address - Great Russell Street, WCIB

How to get to the British Museum in London

• There are no metro stations located very close, the nearest metro station is Holborn
• It is also convenient to walk to the British Museum from the Russell Square metro.

British Museum London opening hours - summer 2019

• Daily from 10:00 to 17:30
• On Fridays, the opening hours have been extended to 20:30, except for Good Friday (April 19, 2019). Some exhibits may be closed in the evening
• The museum is closed December 24-26 and January 1

Ticket prices for the British Museum in London - summer 2019

• the entrance is free
• We strongly recommend using the audio guide (available in Russian). With it, a visit to the British Museum will become much more interesting and informative. The cost of renting an audio guide is £7 for adults and £6 for children, students and over 60s.

Exhibits of the British Museum

Museum collections occupy 94 galleries, the total length of which is more than four kilometers. Works of art from Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, as well as objects created in the Middle Ages are presented. You will see Egyptian sarcophagi and antique sculptures, as well as collections of medals and coins, engravings and drawings.

The British Museum contains antiquities from all over the world, and among the most interesting exhibits are:

• Rosetta Stone with texts made in 196 BC. Artifact replenished the Egyptian exposition in 1802
• Ancient sculptures of the Parthenon, which in the 19th century the English collector Lord Thomas Elgin removed from the ancient Greek temple in Athens. And no matter how Greece asks to transfer the beautiful statues belonging to it, they remain in the UK
• The mummy of the high priestess of Amun-Ra named Katabet, whose age is about three and a half thousand years. On the face of the priestess is a mask, and the body is wrapped in a cloth
• Hoa Hakananaiya - a statue from Easter Island, made of basalt tufa - a material of volcanic origin. Hoa-Hakananaya means "lost and hidden friend"
• Manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci
• One of the most ancient, extant image of Jesus Christ.

Many of the exhibits made their way to the UK under dark circumstances, including ancient objects and historical monuments from Greece and Egypt. These countries are still demanding the return of artifacts.

In the state, in addition to the usual two-legged employees, there are officially six cats working as rat catchers.

Depending on your time, you can view the collections in 2-3 hours or devote several days to the expositions.

After the end of the war, the restoration of the halls and museum collections of the British Museum took several years. The British Museum is the second most visited museum in the world after

The British Museum is the most visited in the United Kingdom. It is one of the top museums in the world. Here exhibits of different nations are kept from the most ancient eras to the present day. The ZagraNitsa portal has collected the most interesting facts about this iconic place and is sharing it with you!

The British Museum is the second most visited art museum in the world after the Louvre.

The museum's collection contains at least 8 million objects and covers two million years of human history.

In 2005, a well-known street artist surreptitiously placed a painting in the British Museum showing a caveman pushing a supermarket cart. Museum staff discovered and removed the canvas only a few days later, citing the fact that it was just a temporary exhibition.

In late 2013 - early 2014, the museum hosted an exhibition of Japanese artistic erotic art. In three months it was visited by almost 88 thousand people. It has become one of the most popular in the history of the British Museum.

The museum's extensive collection includes the Rosetta Stone with texts in ancient Egyptian, statues that adorned the ancient Greek temple of the Parthenon, and several mummified cats from ancient Egypt.

In 2004, a visitor stole earrings and other jewelry dating back to 700 AD from the British Museum by simply carrying them. And in 2002, it is not clear how thieves managed to steal a marble head from the Greek Gallery.

Before the current museum building was built, it was planned to be located in the Palace of Westminster, where the British Parliament now meets, and even in Buckingham House, known today as.

For a long time, the main treasury of the museum was its library. In the famous reading room, located in the rotunda building, the greatest minds not only of Great Britain, but of the whole world worked. In 1972, the library's collection became so large that it was decided to separate it from the British Museum and move it to a separate building.

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The institution is rightfully considered one of the largest in the world and, of course, is of great importance not only for English, but also for world history and culture. This is an amazing part of London, which has become a favorite place for tourists and all connoisseurs of antiquity, along with many other attractions of the English capital. The halls of the museum contain samples of Greek, Oriental, Egyptian history, as well as other ancient cultures. The debate about whether the British have the right to possess artifacts from other countries of the world does not subside to this day. Demands from Greece and Egypt are regularly heard to return the historical values ​​once taken out by the British Empire from their territories to their homeland.

Construction work on the construction of the current building of the museum, carried out for more than 20 years, was completed in 1847. The project belonged to Robert Smerk, who decided to create a new building in the style of classicism. Until 1823, that is, before the construction of the new museum building began, the institution was located in Bloomsbury, and the aristocratic structure of Montague House served as its home. Until 1759, visiting the British Museum was closed to the general public.

Initially, the museum was famous for its library, which for a long time was considered the richest in all of England. In fairness, we note that even now it is of no less interest and represents one of the largest library collections. Its collection includes both a part of the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations and samples of later eras. In the 19th century, a whole building in the form of a rotunda was allocated for the reading room. Such outstanding thinkers as Karl Marx and Lenin used to be frequent visitors to the hall, working here on their famous works.

The richest and most diverse collections collected over the long period of the museum's existence are divided into departments. So, for example, cash coins and medals of various countries and times can be seen in the numismatics department. It is interesting that several departments, which have a huge number of interesting exhibits in their collections, were separated from the British Museum during the reign of Queen Victoria and received their own - the Natural History Museum. It was located in 1845 in South Kensington.

Of the pearls of the British Museum collection, perhaps it is worth mentioning mummies and sarcophagi, a clay tablet describing the global flood, a Turkic divination book dating presumably from the ninth century, as well as a stone called Rosetta. How exactly he got into the museum is still under the cover of mystery, but these circumstances are considered very dark. This, of course, envelops it with an atmosphere of mystery and gives it a special touch.