A museum dedicated to late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton opened on Saturday, May 14, in Ljungby, Sweden, near the site where the musician was killed in 1986 at age 24 in a bus accident while the band was on tour there.
The attraction, called The Cliff Burton Museum & Memorial Stone, also includes a commemorative marker that was erected a decade ago at the site of the crash by Metallica’s Swedish fan club.
According to a Guitar World report published in April, the museum, which was partially funded by the Swedish government, features photos, albums, posters, tickets and other memorabilia. Among the pics are photos taken at the crash site by the first photographer on the scene: Lennart Wennberg of Sweden’s Expressen newspaper.
The museum also features interviews with Wennberg and recollections from first responders to the accident, as well as a stage that replicates the one Metallica on during its last concert with Burton — which took place in Stockholm, Sweden — including copies of the bass and drum kit that he and Lars Ulrich, respectively, used at the show.
The museum’s organizers told Guitar World, “We primarily want to honor Cliff Burton, who died so tragically in the middle of his career, and talk about who he was as a person and a musician.”
An official fan Facebook page dedicated to the museum has posted a video of the opening ceremony for the attraction, as well as photos from the event.
Burton joined Metallica in 1982, and played on the band’s first three studio albums — 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, 1984’s Ride the Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets.
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