Glasgow Photo Library
- St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art
St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art is located beside Glasgow Cathedral (built on the site of St Mungo's 6th century church beside the Molendinar Burn and the future City of Glasgow) and across the road from Glasgow's oldest dwelling house, the Provand's Lordship. The purpose-built stone structure was designed to blend in with these other ancient buildings and opened its doors for the first time in 1993. It is a popular attraction in the city with around 200,000 visitors a year.
It is claimed that this is the only public museum in the world which is devoted solely to the subject of religion. Despite being named after St Mungo, Glasgow's patron saint, it tries to cover all religions, not just Catholicism or Christianity - the first object that visitors see is an authentic dry stone Japanese Zen Garden, the only one of its kind in the UK.
The Museum's most famous exhibit is the Dali painting of "Christ of St John of the Cross". There was a public outcry in 1952, when Dr Tom Honeyman, the then director of Glasgow's museums and art galleries, spent the city's entire annual purchasing budget (all £8,200 pounds) to obtain the painting. It is now the city's most famous work of art and worth millions.
See also Places to Visit - St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art for more information and illustrations.
Go to the next Glasgow location: 
St Vincent Street Church
Or return to the Glasgow Photo Library Index.
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