National Maritime Museum

National Maritime Museum is located in Greenwich, London and its one of the world largest and most prestigious museums of this kind. The site is a part of Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and it also incorporates 17^th century Queen’s House and the Royal Observatory.

Place for all maritime lovers – National Maritime Museum

The National Maritime Museum was established by the National Maritime Act of 1934 Chapter 43 under a Board of Trustees and appointed by H.M Treasury. It was formally opened by King George VI on 27 April 1937 when his daughter and currently ruling Queen Elizabeth II accompanied him through the journey along the River Thames. The museum has the most significant holdings of Britain at sea, comprising more than two million items, including British and Dutch 17^th century maritime art, manuscripts, cartography, official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments and a portrait collection, which is second in size after The National Portrait Gallery.

The most iconic paintings inside of the museum are Nathaniel Dance’s “Portrait of Captain James Cook” and Jules Achille Noël’s “The Bretagne”. What is more, there are  artworks of J.M.W Turner, William Hodges, George Stubbs, Willem van de Veldes, Hans Holbein, William Hogarth and Thomas Gainsborough. The museum hosted various different exhibitions, for example: “Ships Clocks & Stars” in 2014, Samuel Pepys “Plague, Fire, Revolution” in 2015 or Emma Hamilton’s “Seduction and Celebrity” in 2016.

The National Maritime Museum also possesses items taken from German Naval Academy Murwik after World War II, including paintings, flags and several ship models. Lord Admiral Nelson’s uniform from the Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most famous objects on display. The museum is a non-departmental public body and it is sponsored by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Hence the admission to the museum is fee, with an exception to some temporary exhibitions.

See also British Museum.

The most interesting facts according to Connect-Click:

• The National Maritime Museum was often criticized for possessing items described as “Looted art” although, it considers these cultural objects as “war trophies”. (regarding to the provisions of the Potsdam Conference)
• National Maritime Museum houses the Caird Library and Archive, which is the world largest reference library, consisting 100000 volumes including books dated back to the 15^th

Address: Park Row, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF