Museums - Tourism in Vitoria-Gasteiz
You will find many museums in the city. Moreover, they are all housed in buildings which in themselves are well worth a visit. We will give you a brief preview of what you will find inside.
Artium Museoa, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country
Its permanent collection, boasting almost 3,000 individual works, is considered to be one of the best selections of Basque and Spanish contemporary art. What´s more ARTIUM also sets the standard with an ambitious programme of exhibitions encompassing works of a most local and international nature, an intensive schedule of activities relating to contemporary art (cinema, performing arts, music, courses...), a dynamic and active Information Resource Centre and a commitment towards educational and social outreach.
Artium Museoa, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country
Arms Museum
The Museum of Arms of Alava is located in a number of a old buildings belonging to the Ajuria Enea Mansión. From the origins of the humanity to the beginning of the 20th century, the Museum of Arms celebrates the history and the evolution of weapons. While the collection chiefly encompasses European arm, it additionally boasts a selection of African and Oriental arm, together with uniforms, decorations, medals and coins.
BIBAT. Fournier Playing Card Museum and Archaeology Museum
Bibat houses the Fournier Playing Cards Museum of Alava located in the renaissance Palace of Bendaña and the Archaeology Museum of Alava - in a new building created by the architect Patxi Mangado. Playing Cards Museum of Alava offers a historic, technical, and thematic route showing the development of cards from the 15th century to our days. Besides, Archaeology Museum, carries out its work of guarding, keeping, showing, diffusing and managing the archaeological heritage of Alava.
BIBAT. Fournier Playing Card Museum and Archaeology Museum
Museum of Sacred Art
With Neo-gothic style, the inicial Project was built in 1907. It is located in the Cathedral of Mary Inmaculate (New Cathedral). Traces of early Christians, parts of Romanesque churches, Gothic images carved in wood, Flemish triptychs, Renaissancealtarpieces, paintings by El Greco, Ribera, Carreño de Miranda, Alonso Cano and Goya, among others, and an interesting collection of silverware on display in its halls.
Fine Arts Museum
The Augustin- Zulueta Palace -a 1912 building which was originally a private residence- houses the Museum, which has gone throughh several transformations since its foundation in 1942, until its current activity: 18th and 19th- century Spanish Art, and specially, Basque Art from 1850 to 1950.
Natural History Museum
You will find this museum in the Torre de Doña Ochanda, a 15th century fortified house which formed part of the city's walls in medieval times. The museum houses a permanent exhibition on the archaeological sites of amber dating from the Early Cretaceous Period in Alava, one of the most important palaeontological sites in the world. Also, an important collection on the 20th- century Spanish mineralogy and elements typical of natural areas in our region, both from a botanical and from a zoological point of view.
Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre
The Memorial Centre Museum disseminates democratic and ethical values, constructing a collective memory of the victims and raising public awareness against terrorism, and about the defence of freedom and human rights.
Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre
Lanterns Museum
This museum contains beautiful lanterns made of polychrome glass used in the "Rosary of the Lanterns" procession. The building in which the lanterns are housed was built in 1900 on a plot of land resulting from the demolition of two houses in Zapatería street and is constructed according to the plans, design and guidance of the local architect, Mr. Fausto Iñiguez de Betolaza.
Open-air Museums
En la ciudad tienes numerosas esculturas y estatuas situadas en plena calle y que constituyen su particular museo al aire libre. Entre ellas se hallan los trabajos de algunos de los más afamados escultores contemporáneos españoles: desde Oteiza a Ibarrola, pasando por Chillida, Casto Solano, Nestor Basterrechea...
Centro Cultural Montehermoso
The Centro Cultural Montehermoso is dependent on the Department of Culture of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council and can be defined as a space for the production, exhibition, and difussion of art and contemporary thought. Among its main objectives, we should stand out the implementation of gender equality policies. The building is a Renaissance mansion, the facade of which is of surprising beauty.
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