National Museum of Brazil
The National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional) in Rio de Janeiro is the oldest scientific institution in the country, founded in 1818 by King João VI of Portugal. Housed in the Paço de São Cristóvão — the former residence of the Portuguese royal family and then the Brazilian imperial court — the museum accumulated over two centuries one of the largest natural history, anthropology and archaeology collections in Latin America. On 2 September 2018 a catastrophic fire largely destroyed the building and an estimated 20 million items from the collection; reconstruction and recovery efforts are ongoing, including a virtual tour that preserves memory of the institution before the disaster.
At a glance
- Type
- National scientific and natural history museum
- Founded
- 1818 by King João VI of Portugal
- Building
- Paço de São Cristóvão (listed Brazilian National Heritage 1938)
- Location
- Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20940-040, Brazil
- Coordinates
- 22.9053° S, 43.2268° W
- Event
- Catastrophic fire 2 September 2018; reconstruction underway
Overview
Founded just ten years after the Portuguese court arrived in Brazil, the National Museum was from the outset a statement of intellectual and imperial ambition — a South American counterpart to the great European natural history institutions of the eighteenth century. Over two centuries it grew to hold approximately 20 million specimens and objects across botany, zoology, geology, palaeontology, Egyptology, classical antiquities and Amazonian ethnography. The 2018 fire, caused by an electrical fault in a building that had received inadequate maintenance funding for years, destroyed the vast majority of the collection and prompted national mourning and international outcry over the loss.
History
The Paço de São Cristóvão served as the Brazilian imperial family’s principal Rio residence from 1808 until the proclamation of the republic in 1889; after the fall of the monarchy it briefly housed the Republican Constituent Assembly before being assigned to the museum in 1892. Among the collection’s most celebrated holdings were Luzia — a 11,500-year-old human skull representing the oldest human remains found in the Americas — the dinosaur Maxakalisaurus topai, and a rich Egyptology collection including royal mummies. Almost all of these were lost or severely damaged in the 2018 fire. A national reconstruction campaign was launched, with the museum committed to reopening progressively as restored sections become available.
What you see
The Paço de São Cristóvão is a monumental neoclassical palace set within the Quinta da Boa Vista park, an expansive green space in the São Cristóvão neighbourhood that itself retains historical gardens and a zoo. Virtual tour resources — including the 360° tour referenced in the museum’s digital programme — allow remote visitors to experience the building and partially recovered collection in its pre-fire state and during ongoing reconstruction. Physical visits to parts of the building may be possible as restoration progresses; check the museum’s official website for current access.
Cultural significance
The National Museum of Brazil was a foundational institution of Brazilian scientific culture, training generations of naturalists, archaeologists and anthropologists and maintaining the most important record of Brazilian biodiversity and indigenous cultures assembled under one roof. The 2018 fire has been described as one of the worst cultural heritage disasters of the twenty-first century, and the international response — including pledges of support from institutions in France, Germany, the United States and across Latin America — reflects the global importance of what was lost and what remains to be recovered.
Practical information
- Address
- Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20940-040
- Opening hours
- Check museunacional.ufrj.br for current access status during reconstruction
- Admission
- Check official website for current policy
- Virtual tour
- Available online — search “Museu Nacional 360” for the pre-fire digital preservation
Getting there
The Quinta da Boa Vista is served by the São Cristóvão metro station on Line 2 (Green line), approximately a 10-minute walk from the palace entrance. Buses connecting to the city centre and the North Zone are frequent. From downtown Rio, the journey by metro takes about 15 minutes.