Hedmark Museum, Hamar

A striking neo-Russian building built in the 19th century, the vivid scarlet of the State Historical Museum perfectly suits its location on Red Square, where it sits alongside the many other brightly colored buildings of Moscow. Tracing Russian history from the prehistoric to the present, the museum itself estimated it house a collections totaling in the millions. The building itself has a history as interesting as the collection, however. Originally a baroque building built in the days of Peter the Great, it has moved from Tsarist opulence to Soviet austerity and back again.

More accurately a collection of buildings and museums rather than a single museum, the Hedmark separates itself from other provincial or regional museums of its type with what is sometimes called its ‘double cathedral.’ The domkirkeruinene is the ruins of a medieval cathedral in Hamar enclosed within a protective glasshouse. It is this contrast of the ancient and modern that make this an exhibition to remember.

Officially the world’s most visited museum, the evolving architecture of the Louvreoffers masterpieces to compete with the ‘Mona Lisa’ or the ‘Venus de Milo’ contained within. The building offers everything from the museum’s original medieval fortress foundations (visible in the crypt) to its famous glass pyramid built in 1989 and inverted pyramid finished in 1993. Across its 60,000 square meters we find some of the most beautiful architecture in France, a building that was expanded throughout the centuries.

Inspired by the Islamic art and architecture that the museum houses, the Museum of Islamic Art was designed by I.M. Pei, the star architect also responsible for the Louvre pyramid. The first of its kind in the Arab States, it has since been joined by museums in locations like Cairo and Ghazni. The Doha location, however, houses one of the most complete collections, a huge set of objects that perfectly compliments the intriguing structure they are housed in. The interior is equally stunning, with ceilings taking a modern and fascinating approach to Islamic patterns.