- Address: Block A, Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis, Mauritius
- Phone: +230 210 81 76
- Website: www.bluepennymuseum.com
The amazing island of Mauritius boasts not only white beaches, tropical landscapes and beautiful resorts , it is one of the tourist places where the museum of post and postage stamps is open.
Where is?
Mauritius Postal Museum (Mauritius Postal Museum) is located in the capital of the island of Port Louis on the waterfront Kodan. The building in which the museum is located is itself a cultural and historical monument, as it was built in the far 18th century. Initially it performed the function of the city hospital, today it hosts dozens of philatelists every day and is considered the national heritage of Mauritius.
What is interesting about the Mauritius Postal Museum?
In the museum are kept the exhibits that stood at the origins of the development of Mauritius' postal service, and stamps, which are admired by visiting collectors. The Mauritius Postal Museum opens a veil of history about the development of the post office, its employees, the telephone and the telegraph office. The exhibition is divided into three parts:
- The Philately Hall, representing the colonial era during the period 1968-1995. from the day of independence of the island until the foundation of the museum. In addition, there is a photo series about the old post offices and a mail fleet.
- The second hall stores postal items of the same period: telegraph equipment, furniture and post scales, watches and various postal stamps, insignia and the form of mail workers and many other items in the old days.
- The third hall presents globally some models and models of ships, railways and locomotives that participated in the development of mail, sea charts and documents. A separate mini-exhibition presents stuffed animals and objects that give an idea of the wild nature of Mauritius.
Sometimes in the museum there are temporary exhibitions connected with the mail. There is a souvenir shop at the museum where you can buy, besides standard memorabilia, postal albums and stamps.
What is the museum famous for?
Interestingly, the second name of the museum is the "Blue Penny" museum, since the oldest and most expensive colonial stamp "Blue Penny (Mauritius)" is kept in the walls of the institution: the date of its release is September 21, 1847.
The second famous brand is "Pink Mauritius".
Both brands were bought at auction in Switzerland in 1993 by a union of banks led by the Commercial Bank of Mauritius, which is the founder of the postal museum, for $ 2 million. Thus, the brands returned to their homeland after 150 years.
The exposition presents copies of priceless marks, as originals are diligently protected and preserved from the harmful effects of daylight, they are rarely brought to the public. We can say that the whole museum was created for two priceless exhibits.
How to visit the museum?
The museum works on weekdays from 9:00 to half past four, and on Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00. The adult ticket costs 150 Mauritian rupees, children from 8 to 17 years old and persons over 60 years old - 90 rupees, the youngest children are free.
You can reach the museum by bus to the Victoria Square stop.
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