The new Archaeological Museum of Patras opened in 2009. Built with 8,000 square metres of interior spaces, it is the second-largest museum of Greece. The area surrounding the museum comprises a 500-square-metre pool, a shiny metallic dome and greenery. In the near future, the vacant land next to the museum will be turned into a cultural park.
It houses collections about the history of Patras and the surrounding area from prehistory to the end of Roman times. The museum has four thematic sections, three of which are permanent and one is periodic. The periodic section will be hosting various exhibitions around the year. According to the archaeologists of the 6th Antiquity Conservancy, the 70% of the items exhibited are seeing the light of day for the first time in the past thirty years.
The first and bigger section, exhibits items of everyday life, working tools, cosmetics and jewellery from Mycenaean, Ancient, Hellenistic and Roman Greece, with the oldest being of 17th century BC. Apart from these items, this section includes partly reconstructed Roman residences, in natural size by the original materials. In the same place, there is also a part of one of the biggest mosaic collections in Greece, consisting of 14 Roman mosaics covering a total of 250 square metres, vast majority of which are vertically placed. Most of these mosaics were discovered in ruins of luxurious urban residences in the city of Patras.
The section of the Public Life covers the period from 1500 B.C. until the 4th century A.D. There are maps of the Roman territory that frame the information material for the monumental topography of the city. There are exhibits from the Roman period, mainly related to commercial activities, social and administrative organization, cults and entertainment of the inhabitants.
The section of necropolis is dedicated to tombs and items discovered in Patras and the greater region of Achaia. It presents the burial architecture and its evolution from the prehistoric till the Roman times, not only by the items found but with the reconstruction of various types of tombs. In fact there are three totally reconstructed tombs, two Mycenaean and one Roman at their natural sizes with the skeletons and their gems. In the same place there's also information about the burial customs and beliefs, and the burning of the dead in Ancient Greece.
In the periodic section of the museum, various exhibitions will be taking place around the year. The first exhibition, which lasts till the end of November, is dedicated to 'Plants and their Culture in Europe' from the ancient world till today. Future plans include a sketch gallery and a lectures schedule.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.