Spain was once the most powerful and richest country in Europe, it is the cradle of one of the world's greatest cultures. Over the past centuries, many great and wealthy people and families of Spain have spent part of their fortunes on the acquisition of works of art. The Catholic Church of Spain has also been a patron of the arts. Today, some of these treasures remain in private possession and are not open to public viewing, but most of the major works of art are located in museums.

In addition, Spain since the beginning of the 20th century has given the world many symbolic and original artists, such as Salvador Dali, Picasso, Joan Miro, and many others, whose works we can see in museums and galleries in various parts of the country.

As in many countries, the main art galleries Spain are located in major cities: Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, but there are others interesting galleries outside of these cities.

Prado, Madrid

Spanish National Museum, is one of the best in Europe. Here you can see a wonderful collection European painting, including iconic works by the Flemish painters, Brueghel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch, as well as works by all the major Spanish Old Masters.

Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid

The Spanish Art Museum of the 20th century, in particular, here you can see the works of Picasso and Dali, as well as contemporary painters and sculptors. There is also a painting by Picasso "Guernica", which is dedicated to the horrors of war.

Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

The basis of the museum is the former private collection, which was the second largest in the world, and has been freely available for viewing since 1992. Contains a rich collection of works of the European Renaissance, French Impressionists, German Expressionists. Also in the collection are many paintings by Van Eyck, Holbein, Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh.

Royal Monastery of El Escorial, near Madrid

The monastery and the castle itself are worth visiting and viewing. Also here are the collections of: Hieronymus Bosch, Titian, Dürer, Velazquez, El Greco and Rogier van der Weyden.

Santa Cruz de Hospital Museum, Toledo, Castilla La Mancha

A fine collection of classic Spanish art, including many works by Toledo's most famous painter, El Greco.

Picasso Museum, Barcelona

This museum houses the world's largest collection of the artist's work (more than 3,500 of his paintings). And includes some of his most famous paintings, in particular early years- including the "blue period" - between 1890 and 1917.

Dali Museum in Figueres

If you want to enjoy the surreal world of Salvador Dali, visit the Dali House Museum in Figueres, in the province of Girona, located 139 kilometers from the city of Barcelona.

National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona

Catalan National Gallery with a collection of Spanish art as well as works from other parts of Europe. And, of course, works famous artists Catalonia, including Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Joan Miro Foundation, Barcelona

Nearly 400 paintings and sculptures, plus textiles and ceramics by one of Spain's most remarkable painters. The museum also contains an almost complete collection of Miro: graphic works and several thousand drawings, plus not big collection works of contemporaries such as Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, André Masson and Henry Moore.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Pais Vasco

One of the world's great museums contemporary art opened in 1997. The museum specializes in exhibitions of works by contemporary artists and sculptors. The building itself, designed by Frank Gehry, is considered one of the iconic buildings of the late 20th century.

Royal Monastery of Guadalupe (Extremadura)

One of the Spanish popular places of pilgrimage. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Contains a collection of paintings, including works by Goya and El Greco.

Museum of Romanticism, Madrid

If the works of Gustavo Adolfo Becker, Goethe, Lord Byron or Rosalia de Castro touch your heart, you should definitely visit this museum, which shows how people lived during the Romantic era in Spain, in the 19th century.

The Romantic Museum contains a charming collection of over 1,600 items, including furniture, paintings, china, pianos, and more. The museum was under reconstruction for a long time and resumed its work in 2009.

Spanish Village, Barcelona

The architectural museum is located in Barcelona. This is one of the biggest attractions in the city. The museum consists of 117 full-scale buildings from different times. There are streets, houses, parks, a theatre, a school, restaurants and craft workshops.

The most famous and famous museums Spain worth visiting - TOP 6 most unforgettable.

Prado Museum in Madrid

The main museum attraction of Spain, which has the oldest and largest art collection of paintings in the world, is located in Madrid. The opening took place in 1819. It contains the best works of famous artists collected by the monarchs of Spain over the centuries, as well as paintings collected from other sources over the past 200 years. The Prado has a collection of 7,000 paintings, of which about 1,500 are exhibited in permanent exhibition.

The museum has a remarkable Flemish collection, including the best paintings by Bosch. An incomparable exposition of Spanish art, in particular the works of Velazquez (including the Ladies of the Court), Goy (including the Machi and Black Paintings) and El Greco. There are huge sections. Italian painting(especially Titian) collected by the great Renaissance patrons Charles V and Philip II and an excellent collection of Flemish and Dutch paintings Philip IV.

The museum collection of paintings begins with a cycle of Romanesque frescoes from the 12th century from the churches of the Mozarab era (Muslim rule) in Soria and Segovia.

"Golden Age": Velasquez and El Greco. The collection of works of the "golden age" (late 16th and 18th centuries) is preceded by a collection of paintings by El Greco. The visitors then meet the greatest painter Spain under the Habsburgs Diego Velazquez. The premises showcase the works of almost all the significant painters of the country: B. Murillo, A. Cano, F. Zurbaran, J. Ribera.

In separate sections there are paintings by Italian masters, French and English painters.

Flemish, Dutch and German painting is represented by the works of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, I. Patinir, R. van der Weyden. Rubens is widely represented. There are paintings by Jan Brueghel and early Rembrandt.

Reina Sofia Art Center in Madrid

exits to the Atocha station and is located at the end of Paseo del Prado. It is the leading exhibition space and permanent gallery of contemporary Spanish art (in the center of which is famous painting Picasso Guernica).

Museum in former building The large hospital was the city's answer to the Pompidou Center in Paris. Transparent glass elevators take visitors outside the building, whose floors house a cinema, a design bookstore, a print shop, a library, a restaurant, a garden courtyard and exhibition halls with a permanent collection of works from the 20th century.

It is worth coming here just to see Picasso's Guernica. This painting, an icon of 20th-century Spanish art, is superbly placed and shocking despite its notoriety. Picasso painted the painting after the German bombardment of the Basque town of Guernica during civil war. Guernica hangs in the middle of the permanent exhibition on the second floor, on the second floor art schools Basques and Catalonia. This is followed by sections on cubism and the school of Paris. Dali and Miro occupy many places after Guernica, the latter houses an impressive collection of sculpture.

Museum of Spanish Sculpture in Valladolid

one of the oldest museums in the country and the most important in Europe is located in Valladolid. Here are exhibited the most brilliant works of the Renaissance. Then the most significant figures were Alonso Berruguete, Diego de Siloé and Juan de Juni, who were active in the 16th century and spent several years in Florence, where they perfected the skill of realistic depiction of anatomical details.

They were also strongly influenced by Michelangelo and Italian Renaissance generally. Their genius contributed to the fact that the religious power of temperament was embodied in the classics. Masterpiece Berruguete (1486-1561) - a massive disassembled retablo, occupying three museum halls, which demonstrate his skill in painting, relief sculpture and individual statues.

The inner courtyard of the building with openwork carved elements and ceilings is made in the Moorish spirit, and is itself a kind of museum exhibit, representing the Spanish Renaissance in sculpture.

Museum of National Art of Catalonia in Barcelona

The best art museum in Barcelona with a great collection medieval painting, works of the European Renaissance and Baroque and a collection of Catalan art of the 19th-20th centuries.

The Romanesque part of the collection is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Starting from the 11th century. in rural Catalonia and the high Pyrenees, massive stone churches were built, which were magnificently decorated with bright frescoes depicting Christ, angels, apostles. For the sake of salvation from plunder and death, they were carefully transferred at the beginning of the 20th century. in museum interiors like church ones.

The collection is built in chronological order, starting with stone sculptures of the 6th-10th centuries, the bulk of which belongs to the 13th century. The frescoes are still sparkling with colors after 800 years and have a bright, lively appearance.

The Gothic collection is widely represented, covering the whole of Spain, it is also arranged chronologically from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Period of development from Romanesque to gothic style marked by the replacement of wall frescoes by wood painting and a more naturalistic depiction of life (and the cruel death of the saints).

The Renaissance and Baroque sections feature major European masters from the 15th to 18th centuries, although there are no true masterpieces.

City of art and science in Valencia

The most exciting project is the city, which rises on the river bank in the south of the city and symbolizes how the city authorities view Valencia as a top tourist attraction. This gigantic complex consists of 5 futuristic-looking structures designed by local architect S. Calatrava and is considered the largest cultural center Europe.

The architecture itself is impressive here. Calatrava's design is characterized by natural forms, while technical excellence provides the foundation for his pioneering concrete, steel and glass structures.

Hemisphere (Hermisféric) in the form of a spectacular concrete egg with eyelashes and an eyeball, which serves as a huge domed screen for showing films.

The Science Museum (Museo de las Ciencias) has a gigantic frame that protrudes from the legs and is filled with interactive exhibits on science, sports and human anatomy, designed to attract a children's audience.

Oceanographic Park (Parque Oceanográfico) by F. Candela - the largest aquarium in Europe introduces the marine ecosystems of the planet. Each aquarium is an aquatic environment: Mediterranean, marsh, temperate seas and others. There is a large dolphinarium.

The Reina Sofia Palace of Arts (Palacio de Artes Reyna Sofía) presents audiences for music concerts.

Agora (Ágora) has various halls for congresses, tournaments, social events.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Wave-shaped titanium flagship designed by Canadian architect Frank O. Gehry has become one of the symbols of our era. Opened October 18, 1998. It is located in the city of Bilbao, the capital of the Biscay province of the Basque Country. Every year, about 1 million people visit modern Spanish attractions. Occupied area 24.000 sq. m., 19 exhibition halls.

Externally, the building is a combination of various forms, inside there is a bridge and a tower. The outer covering is made of titanium plates and Andalusian limestone. Diversity appearance represented by a combination of the shape of the ship from the mouth of the river, clear geometric figures- from the side of the city, from above - a drop-down flower bud.

Visitors to the main square are greeted by the "Puppy", which has become a symbol of Bilbao. The sculpture is made of natural flowers. The flower structure, as it were, invites visitors to walk up the stairs to the bridge that stretches along the facade from the north side.

The main entrance leads to a flower-shaped hall. From the hall you get into the halls - the petals. Transparency, lighting with skylights, a variety of natural and geometric shapes in planning, titanium coating - everything made the building an outstanding creation of modern architecture.

The halls contain permanent compositions of the Guggenheim Foundation (a non-profit organization for the support of contemporary art) and temporary exhibitions, mainly works of contemporaries. In order to attract tourists, exhibitions are organized and classical works art.

• Spring, early summer and autumn - perfect time to travel to Spain, although the climate of this country is different in each region. The elevated central plains…

Museums in Spain. The most famous and famous museums of the cities of Spain - photo and video, addresses, location, sites, schedules, opening hours.

Spain is a country of sunny beaches, famous wines and incendiary dances, it keeps a rich cultural heritage and, of course, it houses many famous museums. This year, a somewhat unconventional museum has been added to the list of Spanish museums - the Museum of Ideas and Inventions has opened in Barcelona, ​​revealing the world of creative ideas.

The most famous Spanish museum is the Prado in Madrid. The ancient park of the museum was mentioned as early as the 16th century, and the building itself, in which its exposition is located, was built later and is a magnificent example of strict neoclassical style. The basis of the museum's fund was the royal collection of paintings, and the main treasure of the Prado is a huge collection of paintings by Spanish artists. The museum has a wide range of works by Velasquez, El Greco and Goya. The collection of paintings by Titian, Hieronymus Bosch and Rubens is impressive. Also in the Prado is a significant collection of sculptures and works of applied art.

In addition to the Prado, there are several dozen more museums in Madrid, and one of the most interesting among them is Escorial Palace. The museum is located near the village of the same name, an hour's drive from the city. The construction of the palace began in 1563 and lasted for 21 years, after which it became the residence of the Spanish King Philip II. The Escorial complex consists of a palace, a cathedral, a monastery and a theological school, which first mislead visitors with their external severity, and then amaze with the extraordinary splendor of the interior decoration.

The second most visited Spanish museum is the Dali Theatre-Museum, which is located in the artist's birthplace in Figueres.

More than 5,000 famous paintings are kept in the palace, works by Titian, Tintoretto, Bosch, El Greco, Velazquez, Van Dyck, Veronese and other famous artists are presented here. In Escorial you can also see Greek sculptures, vintage wall hangings, jewelry, books and manuscripts. One of the most valuable treasures of the palace is the Gospel with golden pages. Escorial is the burial place of the ashes of the Spanish kings.

The second most visited Spanish museum is the Dalí Theatre-Museum, which is located in the artist's birthplace in Figueres. The museum is located in the theater building; its opening took place during the life of El Salvador in 1974. The artist bequeathed to his native city almost all of his works, so this museum houses the most significant collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures by Dali. Also in the museum building there is an apartment open to visitors. famous artist. Salvador Dali himself is buried in the crypt, which is located in the basement of the museum.

Among other famous Spanish museums there are also archaeological and maritime museums Barcelona, ​​the Museum of Archeology of Cadiz and others.

We tell you where to go for a tourist if he really wants a completely unique experience from a trip to Spain.

village museum

Where is.

What is good. Two facts: the first is that the population of Guadelesta, a small village in the province of Alicante, is 250 people, the second is that the monthly flow of tourists here exceeds the number of residents of Guadelest by dozens of times. And the point is not only that Guadelest itself is located on a rock, through which you can pass through a special arch, but also what awaits you further. The Museum of Microminiatures of the Spanish creator (the definition of “left-handed” is too hackneyed) Manuel Ussa, who easily guides a caravan of camels through the eye of a needle, fills snail shells with people, shows world attractions on a grain, places a Bible on a human hair. But that's not all: there is a museum of Belen micro-palaces nearby, where the life of a whole city of dolls is shown in the buildings of nativity scenes. The museum of salt and pepper shakers “finishes” the admiring visitor, where more than 20 thousand items of kitchen utensils of the most incredible shapes are collected.

Where is. Toledo

What is good. The Spaniards have come up with a way to turn one of the darkest pages in the history of the country into a way to make money. Cynically? Perhaps, but above all interesting. Because in Toledo you get proof of the ingenuity of the human brain. Instruments of torture and executions are sometimes simply surprising: well, how could one or another object be used to inflict pain? The answers can be found in the guides, and on the explanatory plates. More than four dozen exhibits that will remind you of those times when respect for another opinion was an empty phrase - having been here, you definitely become more tolerant and sensitive.

Where is. Bilbao

What is good. Already the building of the Museum of Modern Art is called one of the most unusual in the world. Someone compares it with a bird, someone with an airplane, but outwardly, it most of all resembles a giant ship sailing on land. Every year there are more than a million people who are interested in how permanent exhibitions, and visiting collections of avant-garde works. At the entrance, you will be greeted by a sculpture of a giant puppy made of flowers, and an installation in the form of a huge spider is nearby. However, it’s no less colorful on the inside, as many of the exhibits are interactive, meaning you can interact with them, which makes going to the Guggenheim a great option for those visiting Spain with kids.

Film Car Museum

Where is. Juncos.

What is good. Halfway from Madrid to Toledo, you can see a collection of cars, a number of which, it seems, the police are crying - riddled with bullets, smashed, with broken numbers. Against the background of other neighbors - respectable-looking sports cars, the contrast is even more striking. The secret of such a collection of cars is simple: they are all models that were used (and sometimes are used) for filming a movie. You will be told the history of each car, shown frames of paintings with it, for some money you can even not only take a picture against the background, but also sit behind the wheel of a model you like.

Dali Theater Museum

Where is. Figueres

What is good. Of course, in the list of the most strange museums Spain could not miss the museum of the strangest figure in her (and only in her) history. It is interesting that initially Dali did not want to give the originals of the paintings here, believing that he would conceptually exhibit photos of the paintings. But in the end, he was persuaded, and gradually the building began to fill up, both inside and outside (decorations in the form of loaves of bread on the walls already say that it will be interesting here). “I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a huge surrealistic object,” said the artist. A room with the face of an American Mae West, giant eggs adorned with precious stones, and finally, the embalmed body of Dali himself in a crypt under the dome - a trip here will definitely be remembered forever.

With the most bizarre exhibits.

1. Microminiature Museum (Guadalest)

Guadalest in the province of Alicante is famous not only for its ancient castle, but also for its curious museum, where microminiatures are exhibited. Artist Manuel Ussa with a steady hand creates the smallest copies of works of art - for example, the Statue of Liberty in the eye of a needle, Goya's "Nude Maja", painted on the wing of a fly. You can see through a magnifying glass an openwork elephant in a mosquito eye, Picasso's "Guernica" placed on a seed, Goya's "Execution" on a grain of rice. Among the most popular exhibits are a caravan in the eye of a needle and Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral on a shell. Visitors can see all these creations using a very strong magnifying glass aimed at a miniature object.

The Museum of Salts and Peppers of Guadalest has collected more than 20,000 cutlery, on the example of which one can trace how the priorities in the lives of ordinary people have changed since the century before last. Gentle angels and luxurious carriages were replaced by the heroes of the first Disney cartoons, manned space flight, scientific progress, modern glamor - everything was reflected in simple and modest objects decorating the kitchen table and writing their chronicle.

The museum is open from 10:00 to 19:00, entrance fee is 3 euros.

Address: Avenida de Alicante, 2, El Castell de Guadalest, Alicante.

3. Giant Squid Museum (Luarca)

Biologists have not yet found an answer to two questions: why giant squids love the coast of Asturias so much and why they have not been able to catch the cubs of these monsters. Unlike babies, sexually mature individuals are often found in local sea canyons, and they are already explored without fear, but with great interest, and put on public display in the town of Luarca, at the Giant Squid Museum.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, the former museum was destroyed by a storm, but now copies of the exhibits have been restored and you can see what sea ​​monsters sailors composed chilling legends. For example, among the exhibits there is a female 13 meters long.

Price - 5 euros, children under 5 years free of charge, groups - discounts. Open from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00. Closed on Mondays.

Address: Paseo del Muelle, 25, Luarca, Asturias.

4. Museum of the Moon (Madrid)

5. Chamber Pot Museum (Ciudad Rodrigo)

"Friend" - this is how they called the household item, without which neither men nor women could do for many centuries. It's about about the chamber pot, which deserves a separate museum. Collected here are specimens made of glass, ceramics, gilded and silvered, with enamel and painting, created from the 12th to the 20th century.

The collection contains 1,320 items from 27 countries. In addition to night vases, the museum has the finest collection of spittoons of all time, and the museum itself is located in an 18th-century stone building that previously belonged to a seminary. Cost - 2 euros, open from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00.

Address: Plaza de Herrasti, s/n, Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Castilla y Leon.

6. Siphon Museum (Pola de Siero)

The siphon was invented in the 16th century, but until the 18th century, soda was available exclusively to kings. With growth popular consciousness simple people began to receive pleasures for the elect, such as, for example, water from a siphon. The evolution of a glass bottle with a carbonation device - main topic Siphon Museum in the town of Pola de Siero in Asturias.

Half a century ago, not a single feast could do without this item, but now it is more of a rarity than commonplace. In the building of the former glass-blowing factory, more than 20 thousand copies of different countries from the last century to the present day. The museum is open on Thursday and Friday from 17:00 to 19:00, admission is free.

Address: Calle La Soledad "Almacenes Lelo", Pola de Siero.

7 Movie Car Museum (Yuncos)

Approximately 20 minutes from Madrid, you can find an amazing parking lot - it contains more than a hundred cars that starred in cult films last century. Some of the exhibits still have not completed their film careers - they are taken from here to shoot, some are on a well-deserved rest, riddled with bullets, such as the yellow Seat 1430, which was filmed in the 2010 film "A sad ballad for the trumpet." Open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., entrance fee 7 euros.

Address: Camino Magdalena, s/n, Yuncos, Toledo.

8. Invention Museum (Barcelona)

The Museum of Inventions in Barcelona houses a lot of interesting and useful things that will make life, if not easier, then definitely more fun. A mop with a microphone, a scale on which you can compare your body weight with weight, for example, Kate Moss or Queen Elizabeth II, or a pedal vending machine, which, by the way, was named the best invention of 2009 by Time Magazine.

Everything is collected and stored under the supervision of the inventor Pep Torres. For each invention, a detailed video instruction for use is given, because the idea of ​​using, for example, a tool to give a boiled egg a square shape does not come to everyone’s mind and not immediately. The site has an online store selling all sorts of stuff from the museum.

Open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday and holidays from 10:00 to 14:00, closed on Monday.

Entrance - 8 euros, there are discounts for children, students and groups.

Address: Carrer de la Ciutat, 7, Barcelona.

9. Robot Museum (Madrid)

In the Madrid Museum of Robots, it is easy to take a trip to a time when people dreamed of a wonderful, from their point of view, technogenic future in which robots would serve humans. The history of robotics is not very long, but full of interesting discoveries. This museum contains cars that were created specifically for the entertainment of people. Here is the largest collection of dog robots that have not been able to replace human living friends, there are also humanoid robots created for research.

Price - 4 euros, students - 3 euros, children - 2 euros, a general ticket for a family costs 6 euros.

Address: Calle de Alberto Aguilera, 1, Madrid.

10. Ghost Station Chamberí (Madrid)

Almost a hundred years ago, the Chamberi metro station was the terminus on the very first branch of the Madrid subway, which opened in 1919, when there were only 8 stops on the entire line. Over time, the operating parameters changed, and the station had to be closed. Due to the fact that the entrance was walled up and access to it was closed, time on Chambery froze in 1966, so here you can, figuratively speaking, breathe in the air of those years and see what people lived when the fare was 10 centimes.

Interestingly, the walls of the station are covered with Seville ceramic tiles with patterns - in this way, in 1919, they tried to attract Madrid underground. Advertising posters of that time were made to last for centuries - also from tiles, and some of them, perfectly preserved from the last century, now serve as the main attraction of the ghost station.

The entrance to the museum station is open on Thursday from 10:00 to 13:00, on Friday from 11:00 to 19:00, on Friday and Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00, admission is free.

Address: Calle de Luchana, 36, Madrid.