The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments of Athens is established inside an 1840 building. The building is named the Centre for Ethnomusicology. An architectural remnant of the Ottonian period, the building is among the oldest in the area.
The museum received its collection in 1978. Although the museum is founded in 1991 by its current name, it received the materials more than a decade ago. Fivos Anogianakis, a pivotal figure in Greek musicology and traditional music, had a large collection of Greek instruments and sound objects. Aside from instruments and sound devices, he had a large library on musicology. His instrument collection involved around 1,200 instruments. In 1978, he donated all his collection to the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments.
What is in The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments?
The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments of Athens is relatively small. Still, its successful curation grasps the attention of the visitors immediately. The museum has three floors and a garden. Sometimes there are traditional music concerts improvised in this garden.
The instruments are categorized by their family. There are five sorts of instruments in the museum. These are brass, woodwind, keyboard, percussion, and strings instruments. The older instruments in the exhibit draw more attention. Some of these instruments are made of dried mud. Some of them are made of animal skins, bird eggs, and tortoise shells.
The museum also has small sections where visitors listen to how particular instruments sound. The museum paints a picture of the 5,000-year-old Greek music.
The Location of The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments of Athens is located on Diogenous Street, at number 1, 105 56. It is right next to the Roman Agora in the Plaka district. The whole building is located inside an archaeological site. It is also only 140 meters away from Hadrian’s Library. The museum is easily reached by metro lines one and three. Monastiraki station is approximately 250 meters away from the museum. For more detailed info, visitors may call the museum on (+30) 210 325 01 98.
The Working Hours and The Pricing of The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments of Athens is only closed on Mondays. It opens at midday and closes at 6 pm on Wednesdays. On the remaining days of the week, the museum is open between 10 am and 2 pm. The entrance to the museum is free.
