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The First Museum
The first museum, or the "Old Museum" was ready in 1888 and was located on a small hill. Its exhibits were coming from the excavations of Zeus' sanctuary. The architectural study and the design were made by two German architects, F. Adler and W. Dorpfeld. The funding was provided by Andreas Syngros (Greek banker). -
The Damage in the "Old Museum"
The museum was damaged in 1954 by an earthquake. -
Plans for the New Museum
The plans for the New Museum were approved in the 1970's. -
The New Archaelogical Museum of Olympia
-The grand opening of the New Museum took place early in the 1980's (1982) in a new location in the Cladeos Valley.
-The old museum remained closed for a long time and it was mostly used as a storage. -
Renovation of the Museum
The renovations started in 1999 and finished in 2003, due to the Olympics that they were about to take place in Greece in 2004. Its purpose changed and since 2004 it has been a museum about the history of the original Olympic games. The grand opening occured in early 2004. -
General Information
-The museum owns more than 400 exhibits, which are dated from the prehistoric period to the 5th century A.D.
-The majority of the exhibits comes from Olympia.
-The visitor can find examples of the Minoan and Mycenaean art, ecquipment used by athletes, statues of athletes and many more.
