Barcelona History Museum: a place to visit

Barcelona History Museumis a constantly evolving museum that lets you walk through 2,000 years of Barcelona's history.

During your visit to the city, you can rediscover the important history of this Catalan town.

Today, I'd like to take you on a tour of this place.

Barcelona History Museum: article summary

The beginning of the museum's history

The idea of creating a museum dedicated to the city's history dates back to the 1888 International Exhibition. Over the centuries, the Town Hall has amassed a vast collection of objects linked to Barcelona's history, which it has preserved in the former art museum.

These objects were eventually preserved by archivist and historian Agustí Duran i Sanpere and exhibited at the second Barcelona International Exhibition in 1929. For the first time, they could be seen both as a collection of singular objects, and as building blocks of a coherent narrative on the history of the Catalan capital.

The Museu d'Història de Barcelona was inaugurated after the Spanish Civil War in 1943. The exhibits planned at the time were intended to showcase the 1929 International Exhibition. However, the museum its full potential only in the early 1960s.

Barcelona History Museum: a place at the heart of Roman ruins

The main site is located inside Casa Padellàs, a Gothic-style merchant palace from the XVIᵉ century. In the early 1930s, the building was to have been moved in preparation for the creation of a major new artery, the Via Laietana. However, preparatory work on the road uncovered numerous remains of the ancient Roman town of Barcino. This discovery aroused public interest in learning more about the town's history.

In 1961, the municipality decided to erect a concrete roof over the Roman and Visigoth remains, allowing visitors to see one of Barcelona's earliest iterations. dating from the 1ᵉʳ century BC. On this level, you can stroll through Roman streets, stopping off at a laundry, a dyeing workshop and a factory that produced garum, a fermented fish sauce that was the ketchup of the ancient world.

As the

years, the museum has incorporated other areas discovered during archaeological excavations. These include the Temple of Augustus, the Roman funerary road incorporated into Madrid's Plaça de la Vila and the remains of a Roman villa. found on Plaça d'Antoni Maura.

Since the 1970s, however, the museum has stepped up its focus on contemporary Barcelona and integrated new heritage centers into the city's neighborhoods.

The museum's most outstanding feature is its archaeological excavations. under the Plaça del Rei. However, other exhibitions, detailing Barcelona in the Middle Ages, will give you a good idea of the city's rich history.

How do I get to the Barcelona History Museum?

To get to the Museu d'Història de Barcelona, you can borrow :

• Line 4 (yellow line) of the metro and get off at "Jaume I" station. The museum is about 5 minutes' walk from the station.
• The lines of bus 17, 19, 40 or 45 and get off at the "Plaça del Rei" stop. The museum is approximately 2 minutes' walk from the stop.

How much does it cost to get in?

To discover this site, count :

• 8,50 € full price
• 6,50 € reduced rates (students, over-65s, etc.)
• Free for under-16s and Barcelona residents

What are the opening hours?

The Museu d'Història de Barcelona is open every day of the week except Monday. You can get there :

• Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sundays and public holidays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

There are many ways to fall in love with a city. You can choose to embrace its culture, getting to know its people or indulging in the tastes of its culinary specialties. Strolling through the halls of this spectacular museum will take you back to the origins of the city and its history. find out more about Barcelona.