San Telmo Museoa facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Setting of San Telmo Museoa at the foot of the hill Urgull by the ocean
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Established	5 October 1902
Location	Zuloaga plaza, 1 20003 San Sebastián Basque Country, Spain
Type	Art museum History museum Ethnography Photography Archeology
Collection size	26,000
Visitors	261.880 (2015)
Owner	City of Donostia-San Sebastián

San Telmo Museoa (also known as San Telmo Museum or STM) is a cool museum in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. It teaches you all about the old and new Basque culture, art, and history. The museum helps us understand the past to build a better future.

It first opened in 1902 and moved to its current spot in 1932. This location is in the old town, right at the bottom of Urgull hill. The museum is partly in an old Dominican monastery and partly in a new, modern building. In 2011, the museum had a big makeover. It became a place to learn about Basque society and its people. The museum even won a special award in 2013 for being one of the best museums in Europe!

Discovering the Museum's Past
How the Museum Was Built
- The Original Monastery Building
- The 2011 Modern Makeover
What You Can See: The Collections
Special Exhibitions
Gallery
See also

Discovering the Museum's Past

16th-century cloister arcade

People in the Basque Country really wanted a museum. So, in 1902, the San Telmo Museoa first opened its doors. It was in a different building back then.

But the museum quickly grew too big for its first home. So, in 1905, it moved to a new building. This new place was shared with the city library and an art school.

In 1932, the museum moved again to its current home. This was the old San Telmo monastery, which the city bought and fixed up. For the grand opening, a famous musician named Manuel de Falla led a concert. The church inside the museum was decorated with amazing paintings by Josep Maria Sert. His art is also in the Palace of Nations in Geneva!

For many years, the museum focused on how people lived in the past. But in 2009, it started a big update. After two years of work, it reopened in 2011. Now, it's a modern museum about Basque society and its people. It's the oldest museum in the Basque Country and helps other local museums too.

How the Museum Was Built

Inside the San Telmo church with Sert's paintings

Zuloaga plaza, San Telmo Museoa and the Church of San Vicente

The Original Monastery Building

The oldest part of the museum was built in the 1500s. It was a Dominican monastery with a church, a peaceful courtyard (called a cloister), and a tower. Rich families helped pay for it. Building started in 1544 and finished in 1562.

The building mixes two old styles: Gothic and Renaissance. It's sometimes called "Elizabethan" style. The cloister is special because it's right at the start of the church. This is unusual and happened because of the nearby hill.

In 1813, during a war, the city of San Sebastián was badly damaged. The monastery also got hurt. Later, in 1836, the monks had to leave, and the monastery became army barracks.

By 1913, the monastery was in bad shape. The city decided to buy it in 1929. It reopened in 1932 as the city's museum.

The 2011 Modern Makeover

In 2007, the museum closed for a huge renovation. It cost about 28.5 million euros! It reopened on April 19, 2011, with new ideas and spaces.

The architects, Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano, designed a modern addition. This new part extends into the side of Urgull hill. It gives the museum more room for new exhibits, shops, and places for visitors. The new buildings replaced an old addition from the 1900s. The main entrance now connects the old monastery to the new areas. These include coatrooms, a shop, an events room, and a cafeteria.

South front of the museum

To make the new part blend in, its walls are covered with 3,000 special aluminum panels. These panels have holes that look like natural erosion on rocks. Plants even grow out of some of the holes! This makes the building look like it's part of the hill. The plants change with the seasons, making the building look different throughout the year. The holes also let natural light into the museum during the day. At night, lights inside shine out through the holes.

Most of the museum's main exhibits are still in the old church and monastery rooms. But the new part also has some permanent exhibits. In total, the museum has about 3,000 square meters of exhibit space. There's also a large area for temporary exhibits. The new buildings also have an events room for 300 people, labs, workshops, and a shop. There's even a restaurant on the ground floor!

During the renovation, old paintings from the 1500s were found in the church! These paintings make the church even more interesting, along with the famous large paintings by Josep Maria Sert. When it reopened, the museum wanted to be more than just a museum. It wanted to be a cultural center, like famous museums in Paris or London. The San Telmo building is truly special for its city and people.

What You Can See: The Collections

Part of the Basque stela collection displayed in San Telmo

The museum's exhibits show different parts of Basque society. You can see many cool things!

Signs of Spirituality: This section has old stone markers called funerary steles.
Awakening of Modernity: Here, you'll find interesting items like a sword that belonged to Muhammad XII of Granada (also known as "Boabdil") and a book by Ignatius of Loyola. You can also see more modern things like old bicycles, a classic Seat 600 car, and historic football jerseys from Real Sociedad and Athletic Club Bilbao!

The museum also shows how important the ocean, whale hunting, and iron making were to the Basques. Religion and art are big parts of the collection too. The museum has many paintings and sculptures, with about 200 artworks on display. These include pieces by famous artists like El Greco, Sorolla, and Ignacio Zuloaga.

Inside the church, there's a special video called "Challenges for Our Society." It talks about important topics for the Basque people today, like being green (sustainability), living together with different cultures (interculturality), equality, Europe, and human rights.

Special Exhibitions

Period car in the exhibition Roma Pasolini (2015) displaying Comizi d'Amore sequences

Old building and extension during the exhibition Roma Pasolini

Besides its main exhibits, San Telmo Museoa also hosts exciting temporary exhibitions. These are usually in the newer part of the museum. They cover many different topics that connect the past, present, and future of Basque society.

For example, in 2011, soon after the museum reopened, there was an exhibition about the famous film director Federico Fellini. It showed over 400 items, including photos, drawings, and film clips!

From January to October 2015, the museum hosted "Pasolini Roma." This exhibition was about the Italian poet and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. It showed his writings, films, and details about his life. This exhibit traveled to other cities in Europe like Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, and Rome. The museum also showed related films and held discussions.

After the Pasolini exhibit, "Gaur konstelazioak" opened in January 2016. This one focused on an important Basque art group called Gaur. This group formed in the 1960s to express art and defend Basque identity during a difficult time. The exhibition featured works by famous artists like Jorge Oteiza, Jose Luis Zumeta, and Eduardo Chillida.

This exhibition also honored Dionisio Barandiaran, a local businessman who helped the Gaur group. There was also a modern art section called Kairos that connected today's art with the Gaur group's ideas.