Popularly known for its one of the largest one-man collection of the world, Salar Jung Museum is one of the most famous Hyderabad sightseeing places that must be visited. What makes Salar Jung Museum all the more special is its location. It is located quite close to the other tourist spots of Hyderabad such as Charminar, Mecca Masjid, High Court, State Central Library, etc.
The museum has often appeared in print and electronic media for not only its collection but because of its efforts to preserve the history through digitalization and various latest means. With a magnificent building that paves way into a rich history from all over the world, Salar Jung Museum is a place that no art lover or a history enthusiasts can miss. It is nothing less than a treasure house that values and respects the unparalleled feat that Europeans, Asians and eastern countries have achieved in varied fields, ranging from art to science and literature.
Salar Jung Museum of Hyderabad is the third largest museum in India. It was declared open on 16th December, 1951 by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. In the year of 1968, the entire collection of the museum and the Salar Jung Museum library was shifted to the present building from Diwan Deodi. In 2000, two additional buildings were also added.
Spread across an area of 10 acres and built in two floors, the Salar Jung Museum present wide range of artefacts which have been majorly collected by Mir Yousuf Ali Khan who is also known as Salar Jung III along with Nawab Turab Ali Khan (Salar Jung I) and his descendants. Mir Yousuf Ali Khan dedicated his entire life collecting antiques and artefacts and spent a considerable amount of his wealth collecting the same from all over the world.
Salar Jung Museum is semicircular shaped with an imposing white structure, that showcase decades of regality and richness. This magnificent building is further divided into 38 galleries which are spread over two floors.
It comprises of three buildings, namely Eastern Block (Mir Laiq Ali Khan Bhavan), Western Block (Mir Turab Ali Khan Bhavan) and the Indian Block. Most of the galleries, 27, are in the Indian/ Central Block of the museum. The Western Block of the museum has 7 galleries while the Eastern Block houses 4 galleries.