Prado museum, or as he is called validly by Spaniards, «Museo del Prado» - the largest art meeting of Spain. Its lion's share is made by royal and church art collections. It is not casual: some centuries art of Spain occupied special position among art schools of Europe, developing under direct home nursing of a crown and church. The greatest artists of Spain Velasquez and Goya were official court painters. Two Spanish kings, Carlos I and Phillip II, were invariable patrons of ingenious Italian artist Titian thanks to what, by the way, Prado nowadays has fine Titianesque meeting.

Three art schools make glory of a museum of Prado: Italian, Flemish and Spanish.

Among the masters of the Italian school presented in a museum, the leading part belongs to the protege of the Spanish kings - to Titian, and also Raphael as whom the Spanish court yard long since considered as the greatest master of Italy. So to catch in the meeting a cloth was for the true collector a point of honour, and the collection of the Spanish crown could not lag behind meetings of grandees.

Pearls of Flemish meeting - the world's largest collection of pictures of ingenious Flemish painter Ieronima Bosch, whose freakish gloomy imagination has bewitched Phillip II. It also has got these masterpieces for Eskoriala - the hereditary lock of the Spanish kings. Only in a picture XIX-th century have been transferred to a museum. Prado has the well-known triptyches of the Netherlands master. Among them glorified «the Garden of pleasures» and «a hay Cart».

Peter Brueghel Starshego's grandiose cloth «Triumph of death» became the museum card. Two More products of Flemish school belongs to its best samples - «Removal from a cross» to Rogir van der Vejden and «Worship of magicians» Hans Memlinga.

And at last, Prado - the largest art museum of Spain - has grandiose meeting of products of the Spanish painting. Three greatest masters of Spain - El Greco, Velasquez and Goya - are presented in a museum with the maximum completeness.

Among Velasquez pictures Phillip's Family IV "uses the greatest popularity". It not smart, and is faster a chamber portrait of royal family where it is masterful game with mirror reflexion of model is used. Having joined in this game, the artist on a background has represented itself behind an easel, and the king admired with art of Velasquez, later with own hand has added to it on a breast a cross of an award of Sant-Jago.

In 250 years Fransisko Goya will write a family of other king - Carlos IV, and this portrait where Spanish Burbony were solemnly built before the spectator, also becomes pride of a museum of Prado. The collection of Goji in Prado totals almost three ten cloths and covers all periods of creativity of the painter. - the well-known pair cloths «Dressed a move» and «Bared a move» - the legend connects duchess Alba, the great-granddaughter with two of them «the bloody duke», become, according to a legend, loved the artist.

Small, but very qualitative German collection of Prado also should involve attention of the expert. Meeting "hits" - Albrecht Durer's four cloths, including one of three widely known self-portraits (others two are in the Parisian Louvre and in the Old Picture gallery in Munich).

The museum is opened daily from 9 o'clock till 19 o'clock. On Sundays, on holidays, on December, 24th and 31 till 14 o'clock. The day off - Monday, and also on January, 1st, on May, 1st, on December, 25th. An input free for all on Sundays, in the International day of museums (on May, 18th), the National Spanish day off (on October, 12th) and the Constitution day (on December, 6th), and also every Saturday from 14.30 till 19 o'clock.

 

The exposition of this museum is not among the most extensive. But it is qualitative it does not concede to such giants, as the Parisian Louvre or the Petersburg Hermitage. Under the relation of quantity of world famous masterpieces to the general size of a collection the London National gallery in the world does not have the equal. It is difficult to find among the most famous artists of the world such which pictures would be absent in the London meeting. Thus the greatest European schools of painting are presented in the London exposition by not simply most glorified names, but also culmination works of these masters. The collection of the London gallery allows is high-grade to study history of the European art in its topmost displays.

Certainly, being in England, first of all it would be desirable to get acquainted with English art. The museum gives this possibility to the full. Landscapes and portraits of Gejnsboro and Lawrence, satirical cloths of Hogarta show the British art school in all its originality. Painting of England adequately competes to more well-known picturesque traditions of Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, is unprecedented richly presented in the London National gallery.

The exposition contains pearls of the Italian school of painting is and «the Madonna in rocks» Leonardo da Vinci (a mature variant of earlier work stored in the Louvre), and its cardboard «Sacred family», Botticelli's six cloths, including one of its most well-known pictures «Venus and Mars», "Christening" of Pero de la Francheska, not to mention products Beato Anzheliko, Antonello yes Messina, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto. It would be desirable to pay attention of the traveller to a collection of pictures of the Venetian of XV century of Karlo Krivelli. Now this fine artist not so is well-known, as in 1861 when it was considered as one of the most considerable artists of the Italian Renaissance, and the sum of 2184 pounds has been paid for its "Madonna Rondino" fantastic for those times. For comparison - a unique picture in gallery de la Francheska has been bought then for 241 pound.

The Netherlands school is presented the most considerable in Europe by a collection. It includes four cloths Yan van Ejk (any museum of the world has no such meeting), including one of its most considerable pictures - a portrait of a couple of Arnolfini, product of Kampena, Memlinga, Kristusa, van der Vejdena, Boutsa, David, Bosch - all stars of Netherlands "Golden Age" of painting, and moreover - Brueghel, Rubens, Rembrandt, van Dejk and other well-known Dutches. Will pay special attention on the great Dutch artist of XVI century Vermeera Delftsky. In the London gallery there are its two pictures, and it is a lot of: Vermeer, one of the most mysterious artists of the Netherlands, has left after itself so few products that worldwide they each and all, and even in Holland, in the homeland of the artist, are only six its cloths.

In the London gallery products of the largest Spanish artists are exposed: El Greco, Murilo, Ribery, Surbaran, Goji. The greatest painter of Spain Diego Velasquez is presented in a museum by nine cloths, and among them - hardly probable not the most well-known picture of the Spanish school «Venus before a mirror».

In comparison with Spaniards, Italians and Flemings, a German and French collection are not so rich. But nevertheless names of Kranaha, Altdorfera, Golbejna, Durer, Kaspara David Fridriha, Vatto, Poussin, and also the most well-known French impressionists speak for themselves.

The gallery pleasantly differs from the majority of the European museums absence of an entrance fee, and also the convenient schedule - without days off, from 10 o'clock till 18 o'clock, on Wednesday - from 10 o'clock till 21 o'clock. 

 

The simple and proud name of the British museum is carried by one of best world treasuries. In territory almost in 6 hectares, in a complex of the buildings erected within more than hundred years, monuments of known world cultures all nowadays are stored. Thanks to it the British museum deservedly call a museum of civilisations.

The British museum - one of few museums of Europe who is interesting not only the exhibits presented to it, but also in itself is the most precious monument of culture. Its respectable 250 years history inseparably linked with history of Great Britain - the countries where natural sciences prospered. The scientist-naturalist - not the artist, not the patron of art - has begun nowadays glorified meeting. It was the royal lejb-physician sir Hans Sloun (1660-1753). For the long life it has collected a huge collection of is natural-scientific, ethnographic and art rarities.

The British museum has begun with this collection, to the state Slounom together with extensive library. Then the government has got a family collection of English manuscripts of count Edward Harlie, and in 1753 - meeting of historical manuscripts, rare books and coins of the collector of sir Robert Kottona (1571-1631). So the basic directions of the future museum began to be defined gradually: natural and the humanities, and also numismatics.

Since that moment when the inheritance of sir Slounom has passed to the English government, museum development went under vigilant care of the state. For fund raising on acquisition of collections and a museum building the lottery in which result the graceful private residence a Montegju-house standing in the middle of park in London suburb Blumsberi of that time (nowadays - one of areas of London) has been bought has been organised.

The number of council of the trustees who were at the head of a museum, included members of families of founders: Slounom, Kotton and Harlie, statesmen and, certainly, scientists. The collection replenished thanks to cares of the royal house: in 1757 king George II (1727-1760) has transferred in gift to a born museum court library which already at that time was about three hundred years (it have started to collect in XV century). George II has published the order according to which the library of the British museum acquired the right to the first copy of each book which have left in territory of Great Britain.

On January, 15th, 1759, for ones and a half with superfluous year to death of king George, the museum has opened. Interest to it was extraordinary. Many waited months of the turn: started up there only on preliminary record though the museum was initially created as popular. Visitors have received an easy approach in all halls only in second half XX century

During XVIII-XIX centuries the museum meeting actively replenished. In 1772 the British government has bought a collection Ancient Greek. In thirty years, in 1802 - even more important acquisition: English armies in Egypt, having faced Napoleonic army, find out among the trophies grasped by Frenchmen set of works of art ancient Egypt. Among them - become subsequently well-known the Rozettsky stone, nowadays - one of the most precious pearls of the British museum.

Thanks to this basalt plate on which the long text on Ancient Greek and Egypt languages is beaten out, the French scientist-Egyptologist Jean-François Shampolon (1790-1832) will make the opening: having compared parallel texts, it will open a decoding secret hieroglyphs.

Does not pass also fifteen years as the British museum decorates one more masterpiece too got by a way not too just. The Englishman lord Eldgine, the great admirer of antique Greece, achieves from the Turkish government (at that time Athenes belonged to Turkey) where it is told: «Nobody should repair to it of obstacles if he wishes to take out from the Acropolis some stone plates with inscriptions or figures». Lord Eldgine has widely interpreted the kind permission: it has sent to London neither much nor few two hundred boxes containing the whole friezes and set of architectural details of Parthenon, created there is no time under the direction of great Fidia.

The same methods practise and further. English archeologists - Arthur Evans on Crete, Flinders Pitri in Egypt, Austin Henry Lejjard in Mesopotamia and others - make a number of the largest opening. Any legislation ordering export of archaeological values then was absent. All finds of English archeologists, naturally, left the country and became property promptly the British museum. The meeting is enriched by mausoleum sculptures in Galikarnasse, Artemis's temple in a Hilt, considered as miracles of the world. There is a magnificent department of Assyria and Sumer, which core - the statues found out by Lejjardom and reliefs from a palace of tsar Ashshurnasirapala (884-859 BC), in due time shaken the world and made appreciable impact on the European art.

Nowadays the museum owns the world's largest meeting of a sculpture of Forward Asia, the department of the Egyptian antiquities totals about 66 thousand units, and the Ancient Greek meeting has variety of world-wide glorified masterpieces: except Acropolis sculptures, it is a bust of Perikla, a statue of Demetry and others.

The small Montegju-house could not contain a stream of the treasures flowing to London from colonies. In 1823-47 there is a first row of extensions to it which became and further on building perimetre. The smart facade receives a solemn colonnade, and the courtyard turns to a reading room. Natural-science collections are translated in a museum of natural history. The mankind museum accepts the ethnographic collection including monuments of Africa, Ocenia and Americas. From the Montegju-house the library of the British museum nowadays united with other book meetings and forming the British library has left also. But also to this day in an old building of a museum there is a collection of manuscripts and many rare books.

Today the British museum on the site modestly is called «probably, the greatest in the world as a collection of archeological finds». The exposition shares on ten parts. These are monuments (basically, a sculpture and an applied art) the Ancient Greece, Rome, Ancient Egypt, Africa, both Americas, Asia, Japan, the Near East, Pacific islands.

The numismatical meeting including more of 750 thousand of coins and medals, the European applied art of the Middle Ages and New time and English collection - monuments of art and archaeological materials.

Though in the British museum there is no considerable picturesque exposition (one of the finest collections of the European painting is stored in the London National gallery), it has one of the largest meetings of drawing and an engraving, numbering about 570 thousand sheets. Among them creation of great artists: Leonardo da Vinci's twenty drawings, thirty one - Raphael, eighty five - Michelangelo, about hundred drawings and Durer's engravings, hundred seventeen - Rembrandt, two hundred - Golbejna. If to add to it a collection of a drawing of Antoine Vatto and Claude Lorrena the scale of the London meeting will appear in all grandness.

The museum is opened daily, without days off. Business hours: from Monday till Saturday from 10 o'clock till 17 o'clock, on Sunday from 12 o'clock till 18 o'clock. As well as in other large galleries of London, an input in the British museum free. The payment is raised only for an input on some exhibitions, but also in this case children till 16 years enter free of charge. 

Gallery Uffizi - not only one of the oldest museums of Italy, the beginning to which it was necessary in 1560 when the Florentine duke Kozimo Medici has begun construction of new residence. It also the most considerable in the world meeting of the Italian painting, since origin of actually Italian national school in XIII century and finishing XVIII-th century products when the Italian painting, having worried long and magnificent blossoming in XV-XVII centuries, began to tend to decline.

Any Italian city does not suffer a lack of products of painting of the great compatriots. But the collection of pictures of the Italian Renaissance, stored in Uffizi, is incomparable on the exhaustive completeness. Giotto, Beato Andzhelico, Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Lippi, Mantenja, Mazachcho, Pero de la Francheska, Caravaggio, Titian - all glorified titans of painting shining on the Apennines, are presented in this unique museum by variety of masterpieces. It is useless therefore even to try to capture for once this grandiose meeting, which is quite enough to study on it history of art of Italy.

Among the pearls making meeting Uffizi, it is difficult to specify the most precious. But some pictures became for a long time already the card of the well-known gallery, like "Jokonde" or Venus Milossky in the Parisian Louvre. It first of all two pictures of great Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli "Allegory of spring" ("Primavera") and "the Birth of Venus". The written between 1477 and 1485 years on Medici's country house in Kastello, they remain an embodiment of "Golden Age" of the Italian art - epoch of the High Renaissance.

Michelangelo Buonarotti (the most part of pictorial works of the great sculptor - frescos in the Sikstinsky chapel in Vatican) possesses a unique considerable picture. This so-called "tondo" (that is a picture of the round form), representing Sacred family. Sometimes it name by name the former owners "Doni".

The Italian meeting makes the lion's share of an exposition of gallery Uffizi, but does not settle it. In Botticelli's hall we recommend to the spectator not to pass charming "the Altar of Portinari" Netherlander Gugo van der Gus, and among products of German artists the attention the whole collection - six cloths - Albrecht Durer should draw.

Look images of product of Gugo van der Gus "Christmas" ("the Altar of Portinari").

Unlike next both related on language and spirit of Germany divided up to a XIX-th century on set of small princedoms, the Austrian Empire, on the contrary, united set of the nations, cultures and adverbs. Thus, it as though accumulated in herself voices of various traditions: German, Hungarian, Czech, Italian. It throughout centuries defined originality and charm of the Austrian culture.

A variety has most well proved not so much in painting, how many in music. The Austrians by right compete to Italians - ancestors of an opera - including the native land «the music country». Many museums are devoted the well-known Austrian musicians. These are Mozart's two house museums in Salzburg, in the homeland of the composer, Brams's house in Mjurtstsushlage and set of memorials in Vienna.

The lack of masters of painting of Austria is with interest remunerated by architecture monuments - cathedrals, palaces and monasteries.

Viennese Shenbrunn - residence of emperors - it is doubtless, the most glorified palace of Austria, but it is far not the most ancient. Its lock Ambras in Tirole, near Innsbruck (XVI century) is much more senior. On the bank of Danube, in 70 km on the West from Vienna, ruins of a fortress of Djurnshtejn (XII century) have remained. In 1192 the Lion-Heart grasped by the Austrian duke on the way back to England from a crusade was its prisoner. Picturesque Salzburg is proud of the cathedral (it is based in VIII century, is reconstructed in 1611-1628), surrounded with three areas with magnificent residence of princes-archbishops - governors of Salzburg within a millenium.

The main art treasures are collected in museums of the Austrian capital. The art meeting second for relevancy - a baroque museum in Salzburg. In Ejzenshtadte (about 50 km to the southeast from Vienna) - one of the richest expositions the State Jewish museum can interest in Europe, devoted to the Jewish history and art the traveller. 

The Egyptian museum (quite often named simply the Cairo museum) - the main world storehouse of the Egyptian antiquities. It, possibly, the only thing in the world is art-historical meeting where even "the youngest" exhibits total about two thousand years.

Completely devoted to Ancient Egypt, beginning 3000 years BC and finishing the Roman colonisation, it hypnotises the spectator first of all in time scale of the exposition.

The three-thousand-year history of one of the most ancient civilisations alive appears at the visitor. Thought that the finest works of art lying before it, are created, when was not born on light not only the Homere, but even heroes of Trojan war (according to a periodization of the Egyptian history, the epoch even «the New kingdom» begins in XVI century BC), forces the tourist to lose sensation of time truly. Meeting it on the ground floor majestic statues of Pharaohs from Heops and Mikerina (the beginning of XXVI century BC) to Ptolemeev (IV century BC), so various and simultaneously in something similar among themselves, only strengthen it in vague consciousness that the mankind history is not too long.

«The service of antiquities of Egypt» became a germ of the future Cairo museum so-called, organised by the Egyptian government in 1835 to its Overall objective was to limit the thieves' lawlessness reigning in places of archeological excavations. The plunder of tombs prospering the millenium ago, the present scourge in XIX century became frequent happened that before archeologists came nearer to a tomb, local residents already with might and main sold figurines and jewelry from it in the antiquarian markets. Occurrence of "Service of antiquities» has begun streamlining as course of excavation, and storage of the found subjects.

However the original birth of the Cairo museum is connected with a name of the foreigner - the French Egyptologist Ogjusta Marietta (1821-81). The young employee of the Egyptian department of the Louvre has arrived to 1850 to Cairo to get for the Louvre some papyruses.

It having appeared in Egypt, it becomes the witness of systematic plunder of archeological finds. All numerous visitors - tourists, scientific, fans of olden time - aspired to get any antiquities; at the best - for museums on the native land, in the worst - for personal collections.

Such huge demand has immediately generated the corresponding offer. The service of antiquities of Egypt was unable supervise work of the black markets where precious monuments which Egypt for ever lost were on sale sometimes.

Except a direct criminal act, the Egyptian science suffered from absence of firm legal base. Monuments not only stole - them took away openly. After Napoleon occupying Egypt, and Nelson, whose victory at Aboukir has compelled the future emperor to leave eventually Africa, in the country of pyramids the European scientists have rushed.

They have made set of the greatest opening, but, of course, did not consider it necessary to throw the treasures opened by them in Egypt. Magnificent collections of the Louvre, the British museum, the Egyptian museum in Berlin are obliged by the existence to absence of the legislation regulating export of historical values.

And here Ogjust Mariett instead of, on an example of other archeologists, to extract treasures for the country, the stranger devotes the life. It puts all forces on museum creation in Egypt where everything found on the Egyptian earth would be stored. Including - and finds of Marietta, among which Avenue of sphinxes well-known nowadays, or Serapeum, in Sakkare.

The museum has been based by diligence of Marietta first in Bulake, in 1858 Henceforth everything opened in territory of Egypt, was considered as a state ownership and automatically went to a museum. To plunder of monuments of history and culture of Egypt the end has been put. In 1880 the Bulaksky museum has been translated to Giza, in the neighbourhood with the well-known pyramids, in an extension to a palace of the head of Egypt of that time Ismaila-plough.

A year later Mariett has died. The monument to the great Egyptologist and the disinterested researcher costs in a museum court yard in Cairo where the meeting has been transported in 1902 Here, in an ancient granite sarcophagus, ashes of the scientist are based.

The present building of a museum constructed in 1900, contains over 120 000 exhibits. Among them set of the imperial mummies found at excavation in the Valley of Tsars, treasure of tombs of Pharaohs, including - a burial place of young Pharaoh Tutanhamon (XIV century BC), opened in 1922 English scientist Howard Carter.

It became hardly probable not the most sensational archaeological opening of XX century as the tomb of the Pharaoh has appeared unique among the neigbours almost untouched ancient robbers.

The quantity of the subjects of art found in a tomb exceeded three and a half thousand; their most part is nowadays in the Cairo museum.

Among them - jewelry, ornaments, house utensils, sarcophagi (the mummy of the Pharaoh has been hidden in some precious sarcophagi).

But the most fascinating and most glorified exhibit of this department - so-called «the Gold mask» Tutanhamon. This image of the young Pharaoh lying on the person of a mummy, represents the governor with such vivacity that at the spectator the sensation as if he faces the Pharaoh does not disappear.

The most precious section of the Cairo museum - works of art of the so-called Amarnsky period (also XIV century BC). The name occurs from village a Tel-ale-Amarna where the majority of these masterpieces has been found.

All of them are connected with a name of "Pharaoh-heretic" of Amenhotepa of IV (father Tutanhamona). It has renounced from ancestors and has legislatively entered in the country a uniform cult of the Sun-atona in which honour took to itself a new name - Ehnaton. Aspiring to update completely both spiritual, and an official life of Egypt, he has left Thebes - ancient Egyptian capital and has based new Ahetaton named it, on that place where later and has arisen a Tel-ale-Amarna.

Bodies are seized by the artist or the sculptor at the moment of movement, physical defects of the Pharaoh - the weak hands, the extended head - do not disappear, and, on the contrary, are underlined to affectation. But and the sensation of beauty  artists is fresh and aggravated more, than ever. In a Tel-ale-Amarne the fine sculptural portrait of wife Ehnatona - Nefertiti (it is stored in the Berlin Egyptian museum), become some kind of a symbol of art of Ancient Egypt has been found

After death of the Pharaoh priests of old religion aspired to erase memory of it. His name was cut out from inscriptions, images have been destroyed. That is why remains so few monuments of this period, and the section of the Cairo museum represents special value.

The museum is opened daily in 9 till 17 o'clock. Cost of tickets of 10 Egyptian pounds.

In New York there are some large museums, but the Underground (literally its name is translated as the Capital museum of art) - simply amazes in the sizes. From sidewalk of the Fifth Avenue the museum building, with high columns and windows, fountains seems a palace of the emperor.

However extensiveness and a variety of an exposition of a museum impresses much more strongly. In a collection of the museum based in 1870, subjects of art from all parts of the world, concerning all historical periods - from the Stone Age about our century enter.

The best meeting of the American art, selection egypt monuments, conceding only to the Egyptian museum in Cairo, a surprising collection of the European painting and a sculpture - all it creates to Underground reputation of one of leading art museums of the Western hemisphere and all world.

To examine a museum, it is required to you all the day, and even two, and even in this time hardly probable it will be possible to examine a collection completely.

The extensive exposition of Underground is broken into thematic sections - on world civilisations and epoch.

Art of the ancient world is presented by three sections: art of Ancient Egypt, the Near East (to the Arabian gain in 7 century AD) and the Antique collection including exhibits from Greece, Rome, Cyprus, the Greek and Roman colonies.

The Egyptian collection of a museum consists approximately of 36 thousand subjects of high art, historical and cultural value, time disorder - from a paleolith till the Roman period. (300 thousand years BC - 4 centuries AD). It is More than half of exhibits - result of 35-year-old work of archeologists of a museum in Egypt which has been begun in 1906. Now practically all Egyptian collection is accessible to a review in 40 galleries of Underground, exhibits are arranged chronologically.

This figure was it is cut out from the integral block of gneiss from open-cast mines of Nubia. The name of the sculptor who has given to a stone, is not known. Majestic force of a lion's body contrasts with the frowned forehead and firmly compressed mouth of the Pharaoh. Surprisingly, with what art individuality of Senuserta while other Pharaohs represented in the idealised, generalised kind is transferred. On its elderly person traces of long and full difficulties of a life are visible.

Important part of an exposition of the Museum the Underground represents department of art of the Ancient Greece and Rome - one of the most extensive collections of the western hemisphere devoted to antiquity. Here visitors can see 35 thousand subjects of art covering the period from the Neolith before acceptance of Christianity by Roman emperor Konstantin.

Are geographically presented not only actually to territory modern to Greece and Italy, here there are subjects of art from all regions captured by an antique civilisation: Cyprus and the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, by the Mediterranean and Black seas, territories where influence of Roman empire extended. In this department it is possible to familiarise also with subjects догреческого arts of Greece and Roman arts of ancient Italy.

Now in department of art of the Ancient Greece and Rome it is possible to see the diversified exhibits, from cameos and it is red - and vases to fine statues above the human growth, embodied in all materials which were used by ancient artists: marble, limestone, a terracotta, bronze, gold, silver, and also such more rare materials as an ivory, metal, amber and a tree.

The collection of department of the ancient Near East covers both the long time period, and extensive geographical territory. Here are presented over 7 thousand the exhibits, concerning the period from a neolith (8 thousand years BC) to the Arabian gain and distribution of Islam in 651 year of our era. Visitors can see subjects of art from Mesopotamia, ancient Iran, Syria, Anatolys (modern Turkey) and other countries of the region stretched from the Black and Caspian seas in the north to the Arabian peninsula in the south and from the western coast of Turkey to the river Indus which is in territory of modern Pakistan and India.

Where in France you have appeared, you will be invariably accompanied by a yellow-dark blue badge "La Poste". It is a logo of the French post service. Post service in France totals about the semimillenium and nowadays represents one of the most advanced systems in the world.

The post museum in Paris testifies to it already existence. The matter is that this museum does not concern to state, even the city. It belongs directly to service La Poste. And even its official site - not an independent page, and a part big a site of the French post service.

Montparnasse located in area, the French museum of mail - not unique. Similar museums arose in the last century.

So, in 1872 in Berlin there was an imperial post museum, and month after a similar museum has opened in St.-Petersburg (he bore a name of Russian inventor Popov and has been devoted, basically, to telegraph).

In these museums the technical aspect was accented, mainly: both Russia, and the industrialized Germany of Bismarck underlined technical power the states.

In the French museum the technical aspect plays incomparably smaller role. In the foreground - mail and philately history.

The museum also began with philately: the meeting basis was put in XIX century by the well-known French collector, the publisher of the philatelic newspaper Arthur Mori.

Today fifteen halls of a museum represent a rich and various panorama of development of French mail since XV century till now.

Travel it will begin in 1477 when king Louis XI has created horse mail. Its lines lay along the main roads of France.

Organised as time, only for needs of a crown, the post service quickly became general though up to first third XIX it covered only big cities. Inhabitants of all villages have been compelled to carry the correspondence in the nearest city yourself.

But in 1830 in villages of France has appeared about 5000 post employees. And already in 1876 19 000 French postmen in the sum covered in day about 513 000 km (it about twelve round-the-world travel).

Post chest of XV century, model of post carriages, forms of couriers, - a huge collection of stamps, including the first-ever mark which has been let out in England - all it it is possible to see ancient mail boxes, calendars and cards, cards and photos, letters and stamps of all epoch, and, of course, pleasure of the philatelist in the Parisian museum of mail.

Attention: the museum schedule not quite usually also corresponds to the schedule of post offices.

The museum is opened daily, except Sunday and holidays, from 10 o'clock till 18 o'clock.

The Louvre - the ancient lock of the French kings - looks today how it looked during Henry's epoch IV and Louis XIII when cardinal reorganisation of a medieval building has been undertaken. Nowadays it is one of the world's largest museums. And though in its huge exposition along with masterpieces there is also a set of minor products, the Louvre by right takes a leading place among world art meetings.

It is possible to get to the Louvre in two ways, and both of them amaze imagination. The first, the most widespread - from street Rivoli or from a garden the Roundabout - through the well-known glass pyramid which has caused so much disputes among fans of art. The second - it is direct from metro station "Pale-grand piano-luvr": the visitor gets to huge underground shopping centre and, travelling on its transitions, is imperceptible for itself it appears in "Napoleon's hall" - in territory of one of the most grandiose in the world of museums.

Despite an abundance of guidebooks polyglot and distributed free of charge to understand in topography at first sight it is difficult. The Louvre has seven "departments" and three "wings", and also four levels (not including underground where are located clothes, cash desks and the information). The first and second levels are called according to "re-de-highway" and "mezzanine", and the third and the fourth - as the first and the second floors.

In practice all appears simply. "Departments" here mean exposition sections. Such departments the Louvre totals seven: painting, a drawing, a sculpture, an applied art, and also antiquities - east, Greek-Roman. These departments settle down on three wings of a building (having own names - Rishele, Denon and Sjulli). Each department has the divisions. The fine arts share according to this or that art school, antiquities - on epoch.

It is difficult to capture a uniform sight a grandiose exposition of the Louvre. Among the most valuable collections - meeting "Egyptian department", one of the richest in the world, the beginning to which were put in 1826 by the François Shampolon, the well-known Egyptologist who has deciphered hieroglyphs. Recently again opened after long reconstruction department - one of the most visited departments of the Louvre.

The French collection of the Louvre deserves careful survey as this most considerable meeting of pictures of the French school, since an epoch of the Middle Ages and finishing the XIX-th century middle. Fine painter Kamil Coreau (1796-1875) serves as a watershed between times of romantic art and impressionism, and accordingly - Louvre and museum meetings where the French painting since second half of XIX-th century is exposed.