Museum of the History of Barcelona facts for kids
| Museu d'Història de Barcelona (MUHBA) | |
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| Location | Casa Padellàs, Plaça del Rei, Barcelona (headquarters) |
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| Type | History museum |
| Visitors | 816,989 (2018) |
| Owner | Barcelona City Council |
| Public transit access |   Jaume I 45, V15, V17 |
The Museum of the History of Barcelona (called MUHBA for short, from its Catalan name Museu d'Història de Barcelona) is a special museum. It collects, studies, shares, and shows off the amazing history of Barcelona. This history goes all the way back to Roman times and continues to today.
The main part of the museum is located in Plaça del Rei, right in Barcelona's old Gothic Quarter. But MUHBA isn't just one building! It also looks after many other historic places all over the city. Many of these are archaeological sites that show us what the ancient Roman city, called Barcino, looked like. Other sites are from the Middle Ages, including the old Jewish quarter and the royal palace. There are also more modern sites, like old factories and places connected to famous people like Antoni Gaudí or events like the Spanish Civil War.
The museum first opened its doors on April 14, 1943. A historian named Agustí Duran i Sanpere was the main person who helped create it and became its first director. MUHBA is owned by the City Council of Barcelona and is part of its Culture Institute.
A Look Back: The Museum's Story
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People had been trying to create a history museum for Barcelona since the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition. In 1929, during another big event called the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, the city put on a temporary show about Barcelona's past, present, and future. This show was like an early version of what MUHBA would become.
In 1931, a beautiful old palace from the 1400s, called Casa Padellàs, was moved stone by stone. It was taken from its original spot to Plaça del Rei. This was done to save it from being torn down when a new road, called Via Laietana, was built.
While rebuilding Casa Padellàs in its new home, workers found something amazing: old remains of the ancient Roman city, Barcino! Right away, archaeologists started digging in the area. They uncovered a whole neighborhood from the Roman city. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) stopped the work for a while. But because of these important discoveries, everyone agreed that this was the perfect spot for the new history museum. It ended up becoming a big archaeological museum too.
The Museum of the History of Barcelona finally opened in 1943, after the Spanish Civil War. At first, the museum mainly focused on the Roman and late Roman ruins found underground. It also included the medieval royal palace in Plaça del Rei. This palace has a huge main hall called Saló del Tinell (from the 1300s) and a chapel dedicated to Saint Agatha (also from the 1300s). The chapel has a beautiful old painting by Jaume Huguet from the 1400s.
In the rebuilt Casa Padellàs, the museum also showed objects from Barcelona's history. These included items about the city government, old jobs, celebrations, wars, and how the city grew during the industrial age.
Over time, the museum added more sites. These included the Temple of Augustus and a Roman burial road found in 1954. The archaeological area at Plaça del Rei also grew with new discoveries, like an early Christian baptistery found in 1968.
After Spain became a democracy again (especially from 1979), people started thinking about the museum's role. The old, unchanging exhibition in Casa Padellàs closed around 1990. Since 1996, the rooms in Casa Padellàs are used for temporary exhibitions. These shows offer fresh looks at important parts of Barcelona's history. At the same time, the underground archaeological area was completely updated in 1998. It now includes the latest information about the city in Roman times.
In recent years, MUHBA has also started focusing on more recent history. It has grown into a network of historical sites. This helps the museum tell the full story of Barcelona's past.
Since 2005, MUHBA publishes a science magazine called Quarhis. It's like an updated version of an older magazine from 1960-1980. MUHBA also helps create a European network for city history museums and research centers, which started in 2010.
Explore Barcelona's History: Museum Sites
The Museum of the History of Barcelona has many cool historical sites all around the city. Most of them are archaeological sites that show us parts of the ancient Roman city, Barcino. Others are from the Middle Ages, and some cover more recent history. These include old factories and places linked to Gaudí or the Spanish Civil War.
- MUHBA Plaça del Rei. This is in the Gothic Quarter. It's the main place for the museum. You enter through the courtyard of Padellàs House, a great example of old Catalan courtyards. Below ground, you can explore the remains of a whole Roman neighborhood! This underground area is huge, over 4000 square meters. You can see parts of Roman houses, factories (for things like laundry, dyeing, and making salted fish sauce called garum), shops (called tabernae), and streets. There are also remains of an early Christian church and a bishop's palace. A small exhibit shows Barcelona's medieval history under the old vaults of the Royal Palace. This palace has the Saló del Tinell, a large hall with big arches, and the Saint Agatha chapel with its original painting by Jaume Huguet. The Saló del Tinell often hosts special temporary exhibitions.
- MUHBA Temple of Augustus. Also in the Gothic Quarter. Here you can see four tall columns that are left from a Roman temple. It was built to honor Emperor Augustus. You can visit this site for free during opening hours.
- MUHBA Roman funeral way. This is in Vila de Madrid square, in the Gothic Quarter. You can see part of it outdoors. This was a burial area along one of the roads leading into the Roman city. There's also an exhibition about Roman burial traditions, showing items found in the graves.
- MUHBA Maritime gate of the Roman walls. In the Gothic Quarter. You can see parts of the Roman walls and an area where Roman baths were built, near the old sea gate.
- MUHBA Roman Domus of Saint Honorat. In the Gothic Quarter. Here you can see the foundations of a Roman house from the 300s. It was decorated with colorful mosaics and wall paintings. There are also large medieval tanks used for storing grain.
- MUHBA Roman Domus of Avinyó. In the Gothic Quarter. This site shows the remains of another ancient Roman house with beautiful wall paintings.
- MUHBA El Call (Jewish quarter). In the Gothic Quarter, right in the middle of the old Jewish quarter (called "El Call"). This site gives you information about El Call, Barcelona's Jewish community, and their important cultural history.
- MUHBA Santa Caterina. In the Ciutat Vella district. This site is inside the Santa Caterina market. The market stands on top of an old medieval monastery, and you can still see some of its foundations. This spot tells you about human settlements in this part of the city since prehistoric times. It's free to visit during opening hours.
- MUHBA Vil·la Joana. This is an old farm house located in Vallvidrera, inside the Collserola natural park, on the edge of the city. In the 1800s, it became a fancy house where the famous Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer died in 1902. The exhibition here connects Verdaguer and his writings with nature and the city.
- MUHBA Park Güell-House of the guard. In the La Salut neighborhood. This is one of the small buildings at the main entrance to Park Güell. It was designed by Gaudí. The exhibition inside focuses on the house itself, the park, and the city. It also lets you see Gaudí's amazing ideas for building interiors up close.
- MUHBA Oliva Artés. This used to be a fabric factory. It shows the industrial past of the El Poblenou district where it stands. Now, it has an exhibition about modern Barcelona. It covers the city's growth from the industrial age in the 1800s all the way to the 21st century. Ten main topics explain how Barcelona changed from a small walled town into the big city it is today.
- MUHBA at Fabra i Coats. Fabra & Coats was a very important textile company in Spain. Its large factory buildings from the 1800s in the Sant Andreu district have been mostly saved. They now hold many public services. MUHBA is in charge of the old boiler room. There are plans for a center here that will focus on work and the city's history.
- Water pumping station (MUHBA Casa de l'aigua). In the Trinitat Vella neighborhood. This building was constructed between 1915 and 1919, when Barcelona's public water system was completely updated. It has a permanent exhibition called "Water revolution in Barcelona. Running water and the modern city."
- MUHBA Air-raid shelter 307 (Refugi 307). In the El Poble-sec neighborhood. This is one of the best-preserved air-raid shelters built during the Spanish Civil War. It was made to protect people from the heavy bombing of Barcelona in 1937 and 1938. You can explore more than 200 meters of its tunnels.
- MUHBA Turó de la Rovira. In the Can Baró neighborhood. This site is at the top of one of the hills overlooking Barcelona. From here, you get an amazing 360-degree view of the city! This is where anti-aircraft batteries were placed to defend Barcelona from bombing during the Spanish Civil War. You can also see traces of the shantytown that existed here from after the war until 1990.
- Outstanding Catalan Persons Gallery (Galeria de Catalans Il·lustres). This is a collection of portraits of 47 important Catalan people from the 1800s and 1900s. It's shown in Palau Requesens.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Historia de Barcelona para niños
- Flemish Clock - one of the exhibits
