New Acropolis Museum opens in June

The inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum has been settled for June 20th and it is being organized with much enthusiasm by the Greek authorities. The Greek Monister of Culture spoke of "a marvelous museum whose inauguration will be a huge, global event". The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barosso, was guided yesterday around the museum and stressed out that "the Greeks should be proud to have such a wonderful museum, an important heritage for the European and global civilization".

The New Acropolis Museum was designed by architect Bernard Tschumi to house the archaeological findings from the excavations on Acropolis Hill. It will substitute the old Acropolis Museum that was established in the 1880s and was no longer appropriate to host these antiquities. This new museum is found right opposite the actual site of Acropolis, just 150 m from the Parthenon temple. The museum will extend for 25,000 sq.m. and has three levels. Note that a glass wing of the museum has been specially designed to host the marble frieze of Parthenon that is now kept in the British Museum.

The Greek government has persistently asked for these marbles, known as the Elgin Marbles, to be returned to Greece, but the administration of the British Museum expressed the excuse that there was no proper place to host them in safety. Even now that there is such a place, it is though doubtful if these marbles will actually be returned home. The inauguration of the New Acropolis Museum will be a glorious event and many famous personalities have been invited to attend it, among whom political leaders and artists.