organised in the cities of Samarkand and Fergana, in 1896 and 1899,
respectively. Though being quite
miscellaneous and often casual, the
museums’ exhibits could nevertheless provide some information on the local
history, nature and society and contribute to the local people’s cultural and
educational development.
Currently, there are 444 museums of various kinds functioning in Uzbekistan,
156 of which are national. Most of them are museums of history and regional
studies and memorial museums dedicated to outstanding persons that left
imprints on the country’s history or contributed to the development of the
regional
culture.
In the years of Independence 20 new museums have been opened in
Uzbekistan, including
several major themed ones, such as the State Museum
of History of the Timurids (1996), Museum of Olympic Glory (1996) and
State
Museum
of
History
of
Uzbekistan
(1992).
The museums contain over 2.5 million exhibits in their exhibition halls and
storerooms,
including
numerous
archaeologica l,
ethnographic
and
numismatic items, artefacts of material culture and decorative and applied
arts, manuscripts and other written materials and articles reflecting the
history of independent Uzbekistan. There are 3
museum-preserves in the
country
–
those
in
Samarkand,
Bukhara
and
Khiva.
Uzbekistan’s largest and most important museums are the State Museum of
History of Uzbekistan, State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan, State Museum
of
Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, State Museum of History of the Timurids,
State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and State Museum of
Nature of Uzbekistan.