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The world’s oldest museums

The world’s oldest museums
The world’s oldest museums

Embark on a journey through time as we explore the world's oldest museums. These venerable institutions, steeped in history and culture, offer a unique window into our shared past. Discover the fascinating stories they hold and their enduring significance in the modern world.

The world’s oldest museum was built 2,500 years ago and discovered in 1925 by archaeologist Leonard Wooley

Early museums began as private collections of wealthy individuals, families, or institutions of art and rare or curious natural objects and artefacts.

  • The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani), the second oldest museum in the world, traces its origins to the public displayed sculptural collection begun in 1506 by Pope Julius II, is located inside the Vatican City, displaying works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art.

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg

The collection includes more than 3 million works of art and artefacts of the world culture, including paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological finds, and numismatic material.

  • It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852.

The Belvedere Palace of the Habsburg Monarchs in Vienna

Opened in 1781 and houses the world’s largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s paintings

  • The collection includes works by Titian, El Greco, Mantegna, Raphael, and many more

The British Museum in London

founded in 1753 and opened to the public in 1759

  • Sir Hans Sloane’s personal collection of curios provided the initial foundation for the British Museum’s collection.
  • The Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg opened in 1717 in Kikin Hall and was later moved to the Academy of Science Building in 1727.

Louvre Museum in Paris

Opened to the public in 1793

  • 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet)
  • Brukenthal National Museum in Sibiu, Transylvania
  • The oldest in Latvia and the whole of the Baltics and one of the oldest in Europe
  • Located in Old Riga

The art collection of Florence’s Florence University was begun in the 15th century by Cosimo de’ Medici, enlarged by his descendants, and finally bequeathed to Florence in 1743 by the last heir of the House of Medici.

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