02.SEP.2018 - It was a foretold tragedy, caused by years of negligence and bad administration. On the Sunday evening of September 2, a massive fire ripped through the building, burning more than 200 years of history housed at the National Museu of Brasil. Dozens of people who worked in the building, which was also a research institute, stood outside, gazing at its smouldering shell. Irreplaceable and unique dinosaur fossils, insect collections and artefacts, going back thousands of years were destroyed. Coincidently, this happened on the same date that the treaty–probably burned by the fire–declaring Brazil’s independence from Portugal was signed by Maria Leopoldina. It is feared that many of the 20 million items housed in the museum went up in flames. It took more than six hours to bring the blaze under control.
The day after the fire, I went to see the extent of the damage with my own eyes. At least the building’s walls and facade haven’t collapsed, considering it’s 215-year-old building. I hope that it won’t take long for the reconstruction works to start, but no amount of work will be able to restore thousands of years of history and antiquities destroyed by the fire. I hope that people can rally around this and realize how important history and preservation are.
Thanks to the dedicated work and contribution of Google Local Guides, there is a 360-degree tour online, where we can see some of what was destroyed. Hope that the museum will be rebuilt and that the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.
[Photo] National Museum of Natural History and Anthropology of Brazil - People gathered outside to see the museum the day after the fire.
Take a look at all the photos in this album on Google Photos,