Bangladesh's oldest museum, founded in 1910: Buddhist and Hindu sculpture, ancient inscriptions and Indus Valley finds, run by Rajshahi University.
The Varendra Research Museum is the oldest museum in Bangladesh. It grew out of the Varendra Research Society, founded in 1910 by Sarat Kumar Ray, Akshay Kumar Maitreya and Ramaprasad Chanda, with the backing of the Maharaja of Dighapatia, to collect the antiquities of the Varendra region of north Bengal. Rajshahi University took it over in 1964.
Its galleries hold one of the finest collections of Bengal art in the country: Buddhist and Hindu stone sculpture, including pieces from the Somapura monastery at Paharpur; inscriptions in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and old Bengali; Indus Valley material; sculpted stones of the Muslim period; and a gallery on the indigenous cultures of the Rajshahi region. Students and researchers can use its library free on open days.
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The country's largest museum: four floors of history, natural history, Liberation War and world civilisation galleries in the heart of Dhaka.
Shahbagh, Dhaka
Saturday – Wednesday: 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
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The story of 1971 told through objects given by the families of the martyrs, in a purpose-built museum at Agargaon.
Agargaon, Dhaka
Monday – Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
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The Nawabs' pink palace on the bank of the Buriganga, restored room by room as a museum of nineteenth-century Dhaka.
Islampur, Dhaka
Saturday – Wednesday: 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
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