Allahabad Museum

Allahabad Museum, Allahabad Overview

Situated inside the famous Chandrashekar Azad Park, the Allahabad Museum is one of the national-level museums of India. It gives an insight into the history, culture, heritage and independence movement of India through the amazing displays of artefacts related to the art, history, archaeology, architecture, environment and literature.

The main highlights of the Allahabad Museum are the rock sculptures, the miniature paintings from Rajasthan, terracotta from Kaushambi, literary and artwork from Bengal School of Art. Beginning from the historic era of Harappan civilisation, the artefacts of the medieval period, the carvings from the Gupta period and Khajuraho, to the Independence struggle of India against the British, Allahabad museum is a treasure of Indian history.

Recently, a new rock gallery was inaugurated in the museum which showcases the pre-historic rock arts. There is also a gallery for the Allahabad Museum Green Project where you can witness the eco-life of the present and past in the digital form. The museum also houses a large collection of Bengal School of Art and Modern Painting of Anagarika Govind, Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich.

Allahabad Museum Collections & Galleries

The grand Allahabad Museum is divided into sixteen galleries, each one displaying a different sect of historic and art collections.

The introductory gallery is where you would find artefacts of the independence period and the pistol of Chandrashekhar Azad.
Other galleries dedicated to the era of Independence struggle are Freedom struggle gallery, Gandhi gallery and Nehru gallery.
Various galleries displaying the rich collection of the history ranging from Harappan civilisation to the Gupta dynasty are the archaeological gallery, early sculptor gallery, and medieval sculptor gallery.
The terracotta gallery, miniature painting gallery, textile art gallery and decorative art gallery are dedicated to the different varieties of artwork from various states of India including the miniature paintings from Rajasthan and Terracotta from Patna, Buxar, Rajghat etc, decorative painting and modern paintings.
At the arms and armours gallery, you will find ancient weapons such as bronze swords, body armours, and pistols. There is a special gallery dedicated to the literary work of yesteryear writers.
Natural history gallery showcases the eco-life and varies species of flora and fauna.

History of Allahabad Museum

The Allahabad Museum was first set up as a public library and a small museum by Sir William Muir and the Maharaja of Vijaynagar in 1878 with the help of the donations from the Province British government. However, the museum was soon shut down in 1881.

The ambition of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru to reopen this museum soon came to reality when the museum was reopened in the Municipal building under the office of Pandit Brij Mohan Vyas in 1931. The museum acquired most of its major art and literary collections from Bengal School of art and ancient sculptors during this period. The present day museum which remains unaltered till date was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru on Nov 14, 1947, and it was opened to the public in 1954.

How to Reach Allahabad Museum

The museum is located within the main Allahabad city and is 3 km away from the Allahabad railway station. You need to hire an autorickshaw or taxi to reach the museum.