The museum of the five continents usually surprises the tourist - well, Germany has never been famous for overseas discoveries, from which it would seem that there is such an ethnographic museum ... And it is, and huge - the second largest in Germany. The riddle is explained simply: this museum, like many others in Munich, grew out of a personal collection, in this case a collection of overseas intrigues.
The collection of the local royal dynasty - Wittelsbach, was collected first without a special system, simply buying what liked. Later the collections selected a separate building, collecting all the non-European collectable items in it
So, this is an ethnographic museum dedicated to countries outside of Europe. Objects here are collected a variety of - and artistic, and religious, and decorative, and historical household, almost no replicas - only the originals.
Exposition
The collection consists of 6 sections.
In the section "North America" you can see Indian original clothes, ornaments and rituals things. The section "South America" is much larger and richer - there are many items of the Incas and Mayas, including textiles, ritual objects, many gold and silver items, and the special pride of the collection are Indian art objects, they have remained very few.
In African department exhibited weapons, masks and decorations, a large collection of carved bones and silverware. This is a large section, there are many rare things. The section "East" is devoted mainly to its Islamic part, there are kept decorative and religious things, and also there is a wonderful exhibition of specimens of calligraphy - hand-written books, scrolls, etc.
The section "Asia" is filled with sculptures, for example, Here is the famous statue of Buddha and statues of Indian deities - Krishna and Shiva. Part of "Oceania" is small, the main exhibits here are household items and figurines.
When planning, it should be taken into account that in comparison with similar ethnographic museums of colonial countries (Spain, Great Britain, Portugal or Holland) this the museum is still not too big.
Practical information
Official address: Munchen, Maximilianstrasse, 42, Funf Kontinente Staatliche Museen. You can get there by metro, the nearest station is Lehel.
Working hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 to 17:30, Monday - a day off.
Ticket price: 5 EUR, on Sundays: 1 EUR ( for the winter of 2014).