Sanskar Kendra City Museum

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Approximate Distance From Where You Are: 340.25 Kilometer

Ahmedabad is well-known as a Mecca for architecture students who can see a range of works from medieval mosques and temples to the modern buildings by master architects like Le Corbusier, Luis Kahn, Frank Lloyd, Charles Correa and Balkrishna Doshi.

One of the unique works by Le Corbusier, Sanskar Kendra was one of the three museums he designed: the Government Museum and Art Gallery in Chandigarh, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, and the Sanskar Kendra in Ahmedabad. It houses two museums – The City Museum and Patang-The Kite Museum.

Sanskar Kendra was envisioned as a cultural centre for Ahmedabad by the city’s eminent citizens and Chinubhai Chimanlal Seth, the first Mayor of Ahmedabad from July 1950 to August 1956.

The museum building was designed by the legendary Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, in his signature modernist style of exposed brick and concrete façades. The design follows his principle of Museum of Unlimited Growth in that the free design and spiral layout with a minimum of restraining walls makes it easy to extend the galleries and the sides of the walls.

The building is erected on columns over the ground. The centrepiece of the museum is a courtyard with a sunken pool, from which an open to the sky ramp leads to the exhibition galleries. The design, ventilation, airflow and water features have been planned to ensure that the museum is comfortable for visitors at all times of the day.

The building houses two interesting museums. On the ground floor, the Kite Museum has informative displays about the history of kite flying, photographs and a collection of about 100 kites many of them hand-painted by Bhanu Shah, a city-based artist who was closely associated with the cultural centre. This museum celebrates the kite-flying tradition of Gujarat on the day of Uttrayana or Makar Sankranti.

The City Museum is a must-visit for tourists to get an insight into the cultural heritage of Ahmedabad. In this museum, you can see religious, secular, artistic and everyday artefacts related to the various religious groups of Ahmedabad including minorities like the Jews and the Parsis, sections dedicated to the freedom struggle with special stress on the life of Mahatma Gandhi and the role of the people of Ahmedabad in the independence movement, and historical photographs. One of the incense sticks in the museum is among the tallest in the world.

In the public areas of the museum building, you can see exhibits like the foundation block of Ellis Bridge laid by His Excellency Donald James eleventh Lord Reay C.C.I.E.LL.D. Governor of Bombay December 19th, 1889, archaeological sculptures, a Fire Engine dating to1907, a statue of Queen Victoria, and a fuwara (fountain) moved here from Kalupur.

MOST POPULAR ATTRACTION

The City Museum is a must-visit for tourists to get an insight into the cultural heritage of Ahmedabad. In this museum, you can see religious, secular, artistic and everyday artefacts related to the various religious groups of Ahmedabad including minorities like the Jews and the Parsis, sections dedicated to the freedom struggle with special stress on the life of Mahatma Gandhi and the role of the people of Ahmedabad in the independence movement, and historical photographs. One of the incense sticks in the museum is among the tallest in the world.

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NEARBY AMENITIES

APPROXIMATE TIME REQUIRED TO VISIT

01 Hour

THINGS TO KNOW

The museum is open from 10.30 Hours to 17.30 Hours, Tuesday to Sunday (Monday closed). There are ample parking spaces in the complex. Allow at least one hour to visit all the galleries.

Timings :10:30 TO 17:30

Entry Fee : Free