MUSÉE NATIONAL ZABANA D'ORAN

This major downtown museum was founded in 1882 on the initiative of French archaeologist and epigraphist Louis Demaëght. The museum's three original sections grew rapidly, and soon the collections needed new premises. The present building, reached by a flight of steps, was built in 1933 to mark the centenary of French Algeria and inaugurated in 1935.

Today, the museum is divided into eight sections, ranging from prehistory to contemporary art. The fine arts section includes a major collection of paintings and sculptures dating from the ^16th to the ^20th century. Famous painters from the School of Algiers are represented, as well as Romantic, Orientalist, Impressionist and Surrealist painters. Works by Nasreddine Dinet, Jean-François Millet, Auguste Rodin, Jean Launois and others are on display.

The Old Oran section is a very interesting way of understanding the city's history, presented through a display of archaeological objects from different periods. However, it is certainly the section devoted to natural history that is the richest, with 754 exhibits. Insects, mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and various animal skeletons are on display. Also worth seeing are sections dedicated to numismatics, ethnography, prehistory, Islamic arts and the Moudjahid who fought against the French occupation.

An eclectic but interesting visit.