History

Founded by Act of the first Congress of the Republic on July 28, 1823 , the National Museum of Colombia is the oldest museum in the country and one of the oldest in America. For nearly two centuries has been devoted to the preservation and dissemination of evidence representative of the cultural values ​​of the nation.

It opened its doors to the public on July 4, 1824 , when Vice President , General Francisco de Paula Santander was declared officially created . The National Museum was initially installed in the Botany House , which housed the natural history collection gathered by José Celestino Mutis and watching their disciples , with the passage of time these pieces were added others of archaeological , historical and artistic .

Throughout its history, the National Museum of Colombia has held various offices . From its founding until 1842 occupied the old house - now defunct - Botany , in 1845-1913 , the building of the Classroom- current - Colonial Art Museum , from 1913 to 1922, the Passage Rufino Cuervo - today - gone ; , 1922 to 1944 , the building Pedro A. Bank Lopez , now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , and from 1948 to date , the facilities of the former Central Penitentiary of Cundinamarca, known as " Panopticon " .

The Penitentiary , designed by architect Thomas Reed builder in the 1850s and built from October 1, 1874 , was the country's largest prison for nearly 72 years . However, in 1946 the prisoners were transferred to the new prison Pillory and the government allocated the building to house the National Museum .
Restored and proper under the direction of architects Manuel de Vengoechea and Hernando Vargas Rubiano , was inaugurated as the seat of the National Museum May 2, 1948 . Since the building meets architectural and historical values ​​of such beauty and strength , the government declared a National Monument on August 11, 1975 .

Between 1989 and 2001, advanced the Draft Comprehensive Building Restoration , which ended the first half of 2001 and was officially opened on July 28 with the opening of all the exhibition halls of the Museum.

Currently , the National Museum of Colombia , under the Ministry of Culture, is responsible for the management, conservation and dissemination of the collections that make up the museum .