Museum of Gold
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Contacts
+57-571-3432222
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Business hours
Closed until tomorrow
Directions
CL 17 - KR 7
298 m
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4 reviews
February 10
A unique collection of gold and clay products of the indigenous peoples of America. The exhibits are indescribable in beauty and rarity. Admission is free on Sundays.
See original · Русский
April 29, 2023
The best museum in Bogota, and perhaps in all of South America. There is a unique collection of gold objects created by the Chibcha Muisca Indians. Unfortunately, during the gold rush, most of the gold jewelry was melted down into ingots and transported to Europe. The Bogotinsky Museum contains the remains of the Indian heritage. This is a very interesting museum where you can easily spend a couple of hours.
See original · Русский
July 25, 2020
Colombia is the very country from which the legend of the alluring golden city of El Dorado originated, so much gold was first met there by the conquistadors. In search of gold and precious stones, the Spaniards mercilessly plundered the Indians, ravaging their temples and sanctuaries. In search of coveted treasures, they did not disdain the destruction of graves.At that time, even a new "profession" appeared: Huaqueros (from Quechuan "huaca" — "sanctuary") – treasure hunters who robbed Indian burials.
The looted gold products were melted down. The ingots were sent to Spain, usually in large caravans of 50-60 ships /galleons/. Each ship carried up to 200 tons of gold on board. In total, in 1537-1840, about 1 million kg of precious metal was exported from Colombia alone.
The Museum of Gold in Bogota (Spanish: Museo del Oro) is the largest of its kind in the world. The Museo del Oro is one of the main attractions of Colombia and the national pride of Colombians. The Bogota Gold Museum owns one of the continent's richest collections of pre-Columbian jewelry. The museum's exposition includes about 40 thousand pieces of jewelry made of gold, silver and precious metal alloys, as well as samples of ceramics and textiles made by ancient craftsmen. All the artifacts were created more than 500 years ago. The museum is located in the heart of the Colombian capital, in the historic district of La Candelaria (Spanish: La Candelaria). The ticket price is 3,000 pesos (about $1). The walls of the 3-storey building carefully store valuable exhibits in the form of nuggets, coins, figurines, ingots and jewelry from the pre-Columbian eras. The Museum's expositions provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the culture of ancient Indians and the history of the development of the territory of the state. The volume of exhibits is very large and extremely diverse, so it is best to get acquainted with the museum exposition accompanied by a guide.
On the ground floor there are ticket offices, a souvenir shop, a restaurant, administrative departments and an exhibition hall of archaeological finds. The exhibition presents rare examples of Indian weaving, ceramics, stone, bone, wood and shell products. The perfection of the painting of ceramic products and the quality of the carvings testify to the unsurpassed skill of the ancient masters. At the very beginning of the exhibition there is a huge golden shell, or rather a golden cast from a long-defunct shell. Beads and bracelets are striking in size, as well as household items made of gold, for example ... fish hooks.
The collection of animal figures is very interesting. Indian shamans considered birds, cats, frogs, lizards and snakes as guides to the afterlife. Here you can see unusual golden sculptures representing hybrids of animals and humans.
The Gold Museum not only displays the treasures of the ancestors, but also introduces visitors to some of the traditions and customs of the ancient Indians. For example, the exhibition features many small vessels for storing lime, which the Indians chewed along with coca leaves. In the harsh conditions of the highlands, coca leaves helped the aborigines get rid of headaches, and lime enriched the body with essential minerals. Each exhibit in the museum relates to its own culture, geographical area and tribe. On the top floor there is a very interesting thematic room dedicated to the ethnography of the country. Here, visitors get a visual representation of Colombia's ethnic diversity.
The creators of the Museum adequately coped with the difficult task of placing a huge amount of gold jewelry in an organized, meaningful sequence of images. One of the original solutions is that shadows of tribal rulers (Caciques) are projected onto the walls of the halls. Each shadow is decorated with a set of ornaments characteristic of the vestments of the leader of each of the tribes.
The tour at the Gold Museum ends with a wonderful "performance". An unforgettable impression on visitors is made by the last museum hall, which resembles a huge storeroom with 12 thousand gold products. The tourists are led into a completely dark room where charming music sounds quietly. The spherical door closes tightly, and after a few seconds a bright light turns on sharply to amaze visitors with the effect of the magical radiance of a huge number of golden exhibits. There is not enough space and time to describe the exhibits, even superficially. A special place in the museum exposition is occupied by a small but stunning collection of 30 miniature figurines, which are known worldwide as Colombian Inca airplanes (Spanish Aviones Colombianos). Officially, the products are considered religious ornaments of the Indians. Miniature gold figurines represent stylized images of birds, fish and insects. But on closer inspection, all the sculptures look very much like models of jet planes. The mysterious "Colombian airplanes" have been carefully studied by archaeologists, historians and aircraft designers. All experts agreed that the golden artifacts are prototypes of aircraft. NASA engineers made enlarged copies of the "airplanes" and tried them in an air tube - they flew!
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