Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli
The Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli is a heritage centre at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.It is situated at Rani Mangammal Mahal in Bharathidasan town, near the super bazaar .The nearest landmark is Rockfort temple.
அரசு அருங்காட்சியகம், திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி | |
 Interiors of Rani Mangammal Darbar Hall | |
| Established | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rani Mangammal Darbar Hall (Near Town Hall Complex), Singarathope, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. PIN - 620 002 |
| Coordinates | 10.8250°N 78.6958°E |
| Type | Heritage centre |
| Accreditation | Ministry of Culture (India) |
| Collections | Stone Age |
| Collection size | 2000 |
| Director | Principal Secretary & Commissioner of Museums[1] |
| Owner | Government of Tamil Nadu |
| Public transit access | Chatram Bus Station  Tiruchirappalli Fort  Tiruchirappalli Town |
| Nearest car park | On site |
Rani Mangamma Mahal was built by Chokkanatha Nayak, the then ruler of Madurai. It was also known as the Durbar Hall of the Madurai Nayaks when Tiruchirapally was their capital, from 1616 to 1634 and later from 1665 to 1731.
The museum contains array of exhibits relating to geology, zoology, paintings, anthropology, epigraphy and history.
Background
This museum was established in 1983[2][3] by the State Department of Museums at Cantonment after Salem and Madurai, as a principle of government of Tamil Nadu to have museum in every district.[4] It was later moved to Rani Mangammal Darbar Hall (a Monument built during Nayak rule, also known as Kolu Mandapam) during 1997, which is within Town Hall Complex.[5] The museum is maintained by the Public Works Department.[6]
Exhibits
The museum has both indoor and outdoor exhibits of up to 2000 objects.[5] Some of the indoor exhibits include epoch artefacts like megalithic sculptures, carvings, Stone Age inscriptions, musical instruments, tools, currencies and Chola-era coins, paintings,[6] photographs, rare documents, palm-leaf manuscripts, fossils, tribal life of pachamalai & kohli hills, weapon and cannonballs used by Hyder Ali, early days snaps from BHEL company, Srirangam temple model, Rockfort temple model and philatelic materials.[4]
The stone idols in the sculpture park forms the outdoor exhibits. The park opened on 17 Apr 2012 has about 45 Hindu sculptures of gods and goddesses dating 13th century to 18th century including sacrificial altar, stone nandis and lingams.[7]
The museum also has an ecology section which houses a collection of rare insects, birds and mammals.
Rare sculpture from tanjavur paintings displaying Lord Thirumal as crawling Krishna is on the display. Also the display of Goddess Durga, Saint Manickavasagar, Chandra Sekhare and Lord Nataraj can be seen.
Timings
It is open throughout the year (Morning 10.00 AM to Evening 5.00 PM except every Friday).
References
- "About the Department" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu. Department of Museums. pp. 4, 5. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "District Museums–Government Museum, Tiruchirappalli". Government Museum, Chennai. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- R. Rajaram (19 December 2009). "No breakthrough in idol theft case Law & order". The Hindu. Tiruchi. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- Dennis, Selvan (18 April 2012). "3,000-year-old burial urn found in Trichy installed in museum". The Times of India. Madurai. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- "Break-in at Tiruchi government museum". The Hindu. Tiruchi. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- Nahla, Nainar (19 July 2013). "A step back in time". The Hindu. Tiruchi. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- Olympia Shilpa, Gerald (18 April 2012). "Sculpture park opened at museum". The Hindu. Tiruchi. Retrieved 23 February 2014.