The National Museum in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, was founded in 1877 and contains cultural and natural history artefacts from the history of Sri Lanka and its colonial period. The state documents of the last centuries are kept in the huge library.
The National Museum in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, was founded in 1877 by Sir William Henry Gregory, the then British Governor of Sri Lanka. The magnificent Italian-style building was built especially for the museum by architect J.G. Smither. Today it is one of our top 10 sights in Sri Lanka.
The National Museum is the largest museum in Sri Lanka and is administered by the government. The palatial building was ceremoniously opened on 1 January 1977 and is located in Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha. Over the next century, the museum was regularly expanded with exhibition themes and also structurally with several wings. Since 1942, the museum has had the status of a national museum.
Visit to the National Museum of Sri Lanka
The museum focuses on the cultural and biological history of Sri Lanka. On the ground floor, the country's past is historically re-enacted, while various themes are presented in the upper galleries.
Among other things, there is the impressive, jewelled golden throne and the precious crown of the kings of Kandy, who once ruled over eastern Sri Lanka. It was given by the last king of Kandy to the British government, which subsequently donated it to the museum, considerably increasing the value of the collection on display.
In addition, swords and other weapons, relics from the British colonial era, a doll gallery, clothing and historical photographs can be viewed. Another attraction is certainly the enormous skeleton of a blue whale, which extends over two rooms.
Together with the museum, the National Library was opened, collecting local copies, rare books, manuscripts and documents of the last centuries. Since 1885, the law requires that every state document must be deposited as a copy in the National Library. Thus, Sri Lanka's history can be traced back almost without any gaps.
In total, the library contains half a million books, 4,000 palm-leaf paper manuscripts and an entire gallery of paintings created in Sri Lanka by national artists over the past decades. Like the museum, the library is also divided into the areas of art and culture and natural sciences.
