Attraction
National Museum of Ethiopia
Ethiopia's national collection, home to the Lucy and Selam hominid fossils plus royal regalia, Ethiopian art from traditional to modern, and ethnographic displays.
Addis Ababa Museum
City history museum in a former noble mansion on Meskel Square, covering Ethiopia's capitals, the growth of Addis Ababa and the Battle of Adwa.
At a glance
- Type
- City history museum
- Area
- Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Good to know
- Garden
- City views
Why we recommend it
The Addis Ababa Museum tells the story of the city itself, and it does so from one of the few older houses still standing on Meskel Square. The mansion began as a munitions store and was later given to Ras Biru Woldegebriel and his wife Amakelech Ali as a wedding gift. The family lived there for many years before it became a museum in 1974. Its engraved stone walls carry inscriptions in Amharic and English, and its garden looks out over the square and the city.
The exhibition is organised in themed halls. The establishment hall traces the line of Ethiopian capitals, from Yeha and Axum to Lalibela, Gondar, Ankober, Entoto and finally Addis Ababa, which helps explain why the city sits where it does. The growth hall covers the early development of the capital, including shops and warehouses built by Arab, Indian and Armenian merchants who settled here around the turn of the twentieth century.
The Adwa hall is one of the most popular rooms, with weapons, uniforms, photographs and a painting of the 1896 battle. Other displays cover early banking and currency, from salt bars and Maria Theresa silver coins to banknotes of Haile Selassie's reign, and the Italian occupation of 1935 to 1941. Gifts sent by other cities for Addis Ababa's centenary, photographs of African and world leaders including Nasser, Nkrumah, Kenyatta and Mandela, and portraits of former mayors complete the collection.
The museum is small and can be seen in about an hour, which makes it a good first stop to put the rest of the city into context. It suits history enthusiasts and anyone curious about how a mountain camp became a capital of several million people. The building's engraved stone inscriptions are in both Amharic and English. Opening hours are not widely published, so check locally before you go.
The museum shares its compound with Union Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, whose terrace overlooks the square. The Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum is on the same square, and the Hyatt Regency faces it across the open space, with cafes for a break. In September the square fills for the Meskel festival, when a huge bonfire is lit to mark the finding of the True Cross.
Addis Ababa Museum FAQs
What is the museum about?
The history of Addis Ababa and earlier Ethiopian capitals, the city's growth, Adwa, currency and the Italian occupation.
What was the building originally?
A munitions store that was later given to Ras Biru Woldegebriel and his wife as a wedding gift. It became a museum in 1974.
How long should I allow?
About an hour.
Is there English?
The engraved stone inscriptions on the building are in Amharic and English.
Where is it?
On Meskel Square, in a compound that also houses Union Cocktail Bar and Restaurant.
What else is on Meskel Square?
The Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum and the Hyatt Regency hotel.
When is the busiest time on the square?
During the Meskel festival in late September, when a large bonfire is lit.