- Address: Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Chile;
- Website: museofonck.cl;
- Phone: +56 32 268 6753;
- Operating time: Mon. - Sat. from 10:00 to 18:00, Sun. from 10:00 to 14:00.
For fans and true connoisseurs of ancient civilizations, the Republic of Chile is truly a storehouse of such things, especially when it comes to the city of Viña del Mar. One of the most popular tourist attractions of the city is the Museum of Archeology and Natural History, which bears the name of the first official consul of Chile in the countries of Europe, Francisco Fonca.
Funk Museum - description
Francisco Fonk brought a lot of useful in the history of the state with his works on historical and geographical themes. Though he was a doctor by training, his work, in the field of geography, allowed to draw a modern border between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Therefore, the Fonck Museum is a must-see place, which is visited by all tourists interested in archeology and history and arriving in Chile for this purpose. He managed to collect under one roof a huge number of diverse finds, which even individually represent the historical and cultural heritage of the country.
The building, which houses the Fonck Museum, has several floors. One of them is specially allocated for the exposition of natural beauties: here you can find a collection of butterflies or insects that for a long time have become similar to works of art from the hands of professional jewelers, stuffed birds and animals that have chosen the locality of the province of Valparaiso as their habitat, interesting and unusual exhibits.
The collections of the Fonck Museum attract visitors with painted Peruvian ceramic products, fabulously delicate and not devoid of elegance items of jewelry art, elements of ancient footwear and clothing that belong to the Indian tribes that once lived on this territory.
However, the main pride of the museum is the ancient statue of moai . This stone idol was specially taken from the Easter Island so that people who could not personally visit the place could look at it. To view the sculpture, one of the halls of the museum is equipped in the style of culture and traditions of the island. In addition to acquaintance with the architectural masterpiece, tourists can study the handicraft activities of the Mapuche people.
How to get to the museum?
The city of Vinh del Mar , where the Fonque Museum is located, gets as follows. First come by bus from the capital of Santiago to Valparaiso , the transport leaves every 15 minutes. From there you can get to Viña del Mar by bus or by underground, it takes about a quarter of an hour. In the city itself, tourists prefer to travel by foot or by local public transport - horse-drawn trailers. The Fonck Museum is located at: Cuatro Norte 784, Viña del Mar.