Facts About the Urartu Museum - History and Features

Various artifacts belonging to the civilizations that the city of Van hosted for thousands of years are exhibited in the Urartu Museum! The works in the museum present the history and culture of the region to visitors. If you are curious about the works that are exhibited in the Urartu Museum and the history of the museum, well then let's have a look at them together!

Structure of the Urartu Museum with its Renewed Architecture

The Van Museum, which had to undergo restoration after the earthquake that occurred in Van, moved to a new building that was built next to the Van Castle in 2012. The museum, which has existed under the name of Van Museum since 1932, has been reopened to visitors as the "Van Urartu Museum" since then. Urartu Museum, one of the largest museums in Turkey with its new building, attracts attention with its different design as well as its size. The glass on the outside of the building, which acts as a mirror, allows its visitors to see two different sides of the museum at the same time. Visitors who are looking at the museum building from the outside can see the historical and geographical beauties that have been left behind.

Interesting Features of the Urartu Museum

The Urartu Museum displays many artifacts from the oldest settlements in the region. These works, which have survived until today, contain traces of the civilizations and cultures of the region. Various stories are told in some works. It also impresses visitors with mythological figures, reliefs of gods and goddesses and inscriptions on historical artifacts that provide information about belief systems, patterns, and handicrafts. The museum, which is also a part of Van Castle, attracts attention with its landscape architecture. The museum, built on an area of 13 decares on 54 decares of land, welcomes you with large exhibition halls consisting of works from various civilizations.

What Will You Encounter at the Urartu Museum?

The works in the museum are exhibited separately in halls that are divided into different sections. These halls, which have various sections, can be listed as follows:

• After the first hall, which is the welcoming section, you can start visiting the museum from the section called “Anadolu Uygarlıkları Tarihine Giriş” which is in the second hall.
• In the sections that you will follow until the fourth hall, you can come across artifacts from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Period, Early Transcaucasian, Middle Bronze, and Early Iron Age.
• Hakkari steles are shown in the fifth hall.
• Art and mosaic works are exhibited in the sixth and seventh halls.
• Ayanis Castle animation and simulations will welcome you to the eighth and ninth halls.
• In the halls that are between the tenth and twelfth, earrings, necklaces, embossed plates, and bracelets enriched with mythological figures from the Urartu period are exhibited.
• The thirteenth hall consists of works that belong to civilizations other than Urartu such as Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman.
• Special exhibitions are held in the fourteenth hall.
• In the fifteenth hall, there are cultural artifacts of various civilizations that have lived in Van.
• In the sixteenth hall, you can examine different coins belonging to non-Muslims and Muslims.

You may feel like you are traveling in time as you tour the museum from the first hall to the last hall. It would be beneficial to spend at least 1 hour here to visit the entire museum.

Urartu Museum Visiting Hours

Urartu Museum is open to visitors at any time of the year. The museum is closed on Mondays and accepts visitors between 09.00-19.00 (9.00 am - 7.00 pm) on other days of the week. Furthermore, entrance is discounted for students who have a MüzeKart+ and free of charge for those under the age of 18.

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Stay at Elite World GO Van Edremit While Visiting the Urartu Museum!

The works that are exhibited in the Urartu Museum and the deep-rooted history of the city attract many people to Van every year. If you would like to come to Van to visit the Urartu Museum, a popular destination for cultural tourism, you can choose a comfortable hotel that is close to the region. Elite World GO Van Edremit is only a 15-minute drive away from the Urartu Museum.

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You can contact Elite World GO Van Edremit to accumulate unforgettable memories of the cultural riches of the city and to stay comfortable during this process.