>
>
>
>
What is it? Oh, no big deal, it’s only the world’s oldest national public museum. Inside, you’ll find collections of art, literature, and other artefacts telling the story of human history. Over six million people visit each year, which is more than the population of Libya. It’s been the most popular tourist attraction in the UK, a title the British Museum has held for over a decade – until Tate Modern stunningly dethroned it earlier this year.
What’s inside? A vast number of treasures, acquired over the years. The British Museum is split into sections corresponding to areas and time periods. You’ll find separate wings for Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, spread across three floors. Oh, and a drop dead gorgeous glass roof covering the stunning Great Court.
The British Museum is the world’s oldest national public museum. Founded in 1753, it opened its doors in 1759, 17 years before the Declaration of Independence. It was free to all ‘studious and curious persons’, and it’s still free today (but a few other things have changed). Mozart visited the British Museum with his family – his parents Leopold and Anna Maria, and his sister Maria Anna (Nannerl). They stayed in London between April 1764 and July 1765, and visited the Museum towards the end of their time here, to which the young Wolfgang dedicated ‘God is Our Refuge’ (K. 20), his first sacred composition.