Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
Museum in Plaka with the largest collection of Greek folk musical instruments, housed in the historic Lassanis House.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments was founded to house the collection of the musicologist Foivos Anogianakis (1915–2003). Over many decades Anogianakis gathered instruments from all over Greece and Cyprus, and in 1978 he donated the collection to the Greek State on condition that a museum be established. The museum was inaugurated on 6 June 1991.
The museum is housed in the Lassanis House, a two-storey mansion with an inner courtyard in Plaka. The house was built around 1840, almost at the same time as the Palace of Otto, and belonged to Georgios Lassanis, a fighter of 1821 and the first prefect of Attica and Boeotia.
The collection numbers around 2,000 musical instruments and sound objects from the 18th century to the present, from mainland and island Greece, Constantinople, Pontus, Cappadocia and Cyprus. Some of them are on display in the halls, classified into membranophones, aerophones, chordophones and idiophones. The museum also has music-research archives, a sound archive, a photographic archive and a specialist library for traditional and Byzantine music.
Highlights
- The most important collection of Greek folk musical instruments, with about 2,000 objects
- Exhibition in four sections: membranophones, aerophones, chordophones and idiophones
- Historic Lassanis House of 1840 with an inner courtyard
- Audio tour via an app for iOS and Android
- Music-research archive, sound archive and library for traditional and Byzantine music
Permanent exhibition
- Μόνιμη έκθεση ελληνικών λαϊκών μουσικών οργάνων – Musical instruments and sound objects from the 18th century onwards, classified into membranophones, aerophones, chordophones and idiophones across three floors.
- Founded
- 1991
- Operated by
- Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €5 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €3people over 65 from the European Union |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Free admission for young people up to 25 years from the European Union and for children and young people up to 18 years from countries outside the European Union. |
| Seniors | €3Reduced ticket for people over 65 from the European Union. |
Free admission: Every first Sunday of the month from November to March, 28 October, 6 March, 18 April, 18 May and the last weekend of September.
Free admission is also granted to holders of free admission cards.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
By public transit
Μοναστηράκι · 5-min walk
Metro, lines 1 and 3, Monastiraki station. Buses 025, 026, 035 and 227, Monastiraki stop.
The museum is in the historic district of Plaka, about five minutes on foot from Monastiraki Square.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Audio guide | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The audio tour presents the most important works of the permanent exhibition via an app for iOS and Android. The exhibition covers the ground floor (membranophones, aerophones, ensemble), the upper floor (chordophones) and the basement (idiophones and sound objects). |
