Museu Marítim – Maritime Museum in Barcelona
The Museu Marítim (Maritime Museum) is certainly one of the most interesting sights in Barcelona. In line with the theme, the museum is housed in the former shipyards of Drassane. The museum is located on the southern edge of the old town and at the end of the Rambla, and has an extensive collection of ships and boats and a large exhibition on the construction of medieval sailing ships.
Our recommendation for Museu Marítim
- Reduced Admission with the Barcelona Card
- Enjoy the sea the Golondrinas
The permanent exhibition at the Museu Marítim in Barcelona
In the Drasannes war and merchant ships were built from the 13th until 18th Century. The construction of the shipyards was Barcelona’s naval supremacy throughout the Mediterranean expansion. It could take up to 30 galleys simultaneously in the built vaults. From 1792, the Drassanes were used as barracks.
Since 1929, the permanent exhibition at the Maritime Museum shows the maritime history of Catalonia, the museum moved into the Gothic building in 1936. In several steps the buildings were restored, so that it now has an exhibition area of more than 10,000 sq m.
Ships at Museu Marítim
The exhibited vessels are certainly the highlights of the Maritime Museum. Especially noteworthy is the faithful reproduction of a galley from the 16th Century. The 60-metres-long royal galley Admirals of Juan de Austria was involved in the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571, in which the Turkish Armada was defeated. 236 people at 59 oars used to row on the galley.
In Port Vell, about 500 metres from the museum buildings, the three-mast schooner Santa Eulàlia is located, which also can be viewed. It was launched in 1919 and is a typical merchant ship of that time.
Several other boats of different categories, from simple wooden fishing boats to a wooden submarines to racing boats are exhibited.
The Model Collection
With the same care and building technology the big ships were built with, even at times of the naval supremacy of Barcelona on the Mediterranean, original models of ships were built.
This happened e.g. for training and testing purposes. Most models of the collection were made in the 19th Century. Often the original ships no longer exist, so that the models provide valuable information on the design, technology and capacity of ships of all eras.
The Collection of Nautical Instruments
The Museu Marítim has a remarkable collection of nautical instruments, which are especially served for navigation. Most instruments are from the period of the 18th to the 20th Century and show the development of the sextant, depth gauge and many other navigational tools.
Collection of Gallions figures
The figureheads were always supposed to make sure that the sailing ships sail safely through the sea. The main part of the collection comes from Catalan sailing ships of the 19th Century.
Drassanes Reials de Barcelona
The construction of the royal shipyard started between 1280 and 1300. Originally, the shipyards consisted of a walled area without a roof.
The complex resembled a fortress, there was a watchtower on each corner, two of which are still preserved today.
The shipyard halls with roof were completed in 1381. Reasons for the long construction period were a lack of money, large crop failures and famines and a population decimated by the plague. After the first completion the Gothic shipyard consisted of a total of eight halls, in each of which a ship could be built. In 1571, the La Real was built in the Drassanes. The shipyard halls were gradually expanded and at the end of the 16th century, the Drassanes already consisted of 16 halls, which then were expanded in 1618 by three halls.
From 1714 to 1935 a barracks was housed in the shipyard. Shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the buildings were handed over to the city of Barcelona, ââand the museum was opened on 18 January 1941. During the renovation works from 2011 to 2014, a Roman necropolis with 25 tombs was discovered in the Drassanes.
Why the Museu Marítim is worth visiting
The Museu Marítim is located in a medieval shipyard.
The building itself is already impressive. Barcelona dominated the Mediterranean for a while during the Middle Ages. Here you can see how the ships were built: first models were built and tested. With those models, the processes were tested in the yard. Ropes had to be made in the shipyard and the wood had to be processed in a specific way. Here you can see the entire production process of the shipyard. The highlight is the faithful replica of a medieval rowing galley. But also modern sports and commercial boats and maritime equipment are exhibited.
Maritime Museum Barcelona (Museu Maritim)
Barcelona / Maritime Museum of Barcelona
Museu Marítim de Barcelona is the marine and navel museum
Info and tickets for the maritime museum in Barcelona. Visiting the Museu Maritim Barcelona about the history of shipping in Barcelona in this maritime museum.
Info & Tickets Museu Maritim de Barcelona |
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| Address | Av. de les Drassanes s/n Barcelona |
| Metro | Metro station Drassanes (Line 3) |
| Tickets |
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| Opening hours | Open every day from 10:00am to 8:00pm |
| Website | www.mmb.cat |
The Barcelona Maritime Museum, near the column of Columbus is an institution dedicated to maritime culture and over 80 years of maritime history. The mission of the maritime museum is the preserving, studying, and promoting of the nation’s maritime heritage, which is one of the richest in the Mediterranean.
The maritime museum is located in the building of the Royal shipyards, on the coast of Barcelona and at the base of the Montjuïc hill.
Museu Maritim de Barcelona
In the ‘Museu Maritim’ you can see many replicas, including the replica of the royal galley Don Juan de Austria from 1571 and – in the harbour – the perfectly restored schooner Santa Eulalia from 1918. Dive into the stories of adventures from the Spanish explorers.
Entrance of Barcelona maritime museum in the old shipyards
The royal galley Don Juan de Austria
Where is the Maritime Museum of Barcelona?
Close to the maritime museum are:
La Rambla
Columbus Monument
Palau Güell
ort Vell
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Barcelona Maritime Museum – the sea at the museum
On the city’s waterfront, at the base of Montjuïc, is the Barcelona Maritime Museum, which captures centuries of history and many maritime legends. Surrounded by temporary exhibitions and vintage ships, you’ll practically immerse yourself in the city’s maritime history.
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Those who are in love with the history of the fleet will surely love the Museu Marítim de Barcelona. Although, it will also be interesting for everyone else to visit here – after all, it is not in vain that it is recognized as extraordinary and exceptional.
The Sea at the Museum
A few minutes’ walk from the harbor and the city’s promenade, this amazing museum is waiting for you, entirely on the theme of maritime culture. Its mission is to preserve and popularize the maritime heritage of the country and preserve its history for future generations. Here you can see old ships, exhibitions, archival photos, maps: a voyage through time, acquaintance with an unknown world.
Museu Marítim de Barcelona is located in the building of the Royal Shipyards (Drassanes of Barcelona).
For most, this place is still unfamiliar, however, in fact, this building is one of the most prominent on the city’s waterfront, and, first of all, one of the most important in the shipbuilding industry, it can boast of a history of 700 years.
History of the Museum
The construction of Drassanes was started in the 13th century by order of Peter II the Great to create a body outside the walls, in the form of a tangible space, surrounded by 4 towers, and one open side towards the sea, in order to facilitate the construction of a fleet for commercial and military expansion of Catalonia and Aragon. And so it became a place that was engaged in shipbuilding, repair and maintenance of boats: slave galleys, warships, and other specialized equipment and tools were built here for centuries.
The classic Catalan Gothic building, despite having preserved this Gothic structure over the centuries, has also undergone many changes, in particular from a practical point of view: the task was to create a spacious workspace that would have was only “industrial” application.
One of the previous major repairs took place in 1723, then 2 central aisles were connected to create one large one, for the subsequent possibility of building large ships here.
The boats originally built were slave galleys for the sale of slaves, operated for commercial and military purposes. One of the largest ships built in 1568 was the Royal Galley, which took part in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Today it is possible to see its reconstruction, called Grada Mayor.
The operation of the building as an arsenal lasted until the first half of the 18th century. Later, the building was used, for the most part, for military tasks: the manufacture of weapons, tools and artillery arsenal, until that time, until 19In 35, the army gave the order to the city to manage the entire installation. In 1936, despite the start of the civil war, the Museu Marítim de Barcelona became part of the structure of the building. Since that time, the ancient arsenal has been transformed into a space that introduces maritime history and culture.
After a complete renovation in 1941, the Museu Marítim de Barcelona was opened to the public.
In 1976 the “Royal Dockyards” was declared a Historical and Artistic Monument for its historical importance in shipbuilding, and in 2006 it became a museum of national interest.
Today the building is managed by the Consortium of the Royal Dockyard and the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, formed by the Government, the Provincial Council and the Port of Barcelona.
Barcelona Maritime Museum today
As mentioned earlier, the building has undergone a number of changes over the centuries. Initially, it was framed by 4 towers. Currently only two of them can be seen:
- Levante Tower
- Poniente Tower
Many other architectural elements also did not survive, such as the king’s fortress. With the opening of the Avenue Parallel, she disappeared. But the Port of Saint Madrona remained.
The structure today is a modern and majestic space, while retaining the architectural features of the Gothic style.
The Maritime Museum in Barcelona is an exceptional place. Here you can admire the reconstructions of historic ships and a variety of boats of various sizes during temporary and permanent exhibitions.
Where is the Barcelona Maritime Museum
The Barcelona Maritime Museum is located at Avda. de las Drassanes, s/n
How to get to the Maritime Museum
L3 metro – Drassanes (exit – Portal of Santa Madrona).
Bus – lines 14, 18, 36, 38, 57, 59, 64 and 91.
Opening hours and entrance fee
Schedule: Monday – Sunday, 10.00 – 20.00 (open until 19.30). Sunday, after 15.00, admission is free. The Museu Marítim de Barcelona is closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 6 January.
Prices: entrance ticket 7 euros, special price 3.5 euros, 5.5 euros for groups.
Are you going to Barcelona? Don’t forget to buy tickets for local museums in advance to avoid long queues. You can do it online0078 on the link on the official ticket platform.
Museu Marítim de Barcelona on the city map
- How to avoid queues at Barcelona attractions. Tickets for the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell skip the line.
- How not to be deceived by local taxi drivers. Order a taxi in advance with fixed rates online. The most reliable service for ordering a taxi is KiwiTaxi .
- Barcelona tours with locals will help you get to know this city for real. The best way to get comfortable in an unfamiliar city is to walk around it with a person who has lived here for many years.
- We advise you to take out travel insurance so that there are no unpleasant surprises while traveling to Barcelona.
- Barcelona City Pass is a one-stop card that makes organizing your holiday in Barcelona easier and saves you a lot of time and money.
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- Bus Turistic is a tourist bus and a great way to get to all the necessary monuments of Barcelona quickly, with a breeze and comfort.
- Drimsim is a universal international SIM card and a free travel application. Best prices, fast internet and worldwide calls.
Barcelona Maritime Museum – barcelona-excursii
The Barcelona Maritime Museum is a stone’s throw from the Ramblas, making it easy to get to. In this article we will talk about the museum itself, as well as
share useful information regarding its location, schedule, ticket prices, etc.
Barcelona is a sea city. A city that arose, began to flourish and flourishes thanks to the sea. It is clear that in such a city there simply must be a maritime museum – and it
really is. The museum, in which perhaps the most interesting is its building itself.
The building of the museum is nothing but the medieval royal shipyards, the construction of which began in the 13th century and continued intermittently for more than one century.
IN
the result was a huge covered structure, allowing you to fully experience the power and scope with which the ships of the Aragonese fleet, designed to win, were built at one time – and
victorious.
And do not be embarrassed that today these shipyards, included, by the way, in the catalog of historical and architectural monuments of Spain, stand quite far from the water – the sea
also not always located where we are accustomed to seeing it in our day.
The museum was established by the government of the Spanish Republic on October 23, 1936, shortly after the start of the civil war.
The shipyards, previously owned by the military, were nationalized and they housed the museum’s collection, which was based on models of ships, navigational charts and instruments,
donated to the museum by the Nautical School of Barcelona.
Soon, Francisco Franco’s aircraft began to bomb Republican Barcelona from the air, and the museum had to be evacuated to the town of Seva, which is 50 km from Barcelona.
For the first time, the museum opened its doors to the public after the end of the Civil War, in 1941, and since then it has been delighting visitors with its diverse expositions.
The absolute pride of the collection is a life-size replica of the so-called “royal galley” of Juan of Austria – a ship that acted as a flagship in the famous
Battle of the Turks at Lepanto in 1571
Both the galley itself and the replica, in full accordance with the original, were built, by the way, right here, at the royal shipyards of Barcelona – which is why the exhibit is especially valuable.
This huge, for those times, ship (no joke, its length is 60 m, and on each side it is narrowly equipped with thirty huge oars), decorated with truly
royal luxury, stands proudly in one of the huge naves of the museum building – but there is not only him!
The entire maritime history of Barcelona for many centuries will pass before the visitor’s eyes.
Beautifully made models and replicas of various Mediterranean watercraft, ancient nautical charts, atlases and navigational instruments, works by marist artists, dioramas – all this too
There is.
And when you find yourself in the cozy courtyard of the museum, you will be able to contemplate another funny, at first glance, exhibit, at the sight of which you will immediately remember the cheerful song of the Beatles –
“Yellow Submarine”
Here it is, this exhibit – in the photo below. Take a closer look at him and tell me that I’m wrong! It may seem that it was in honor of the Beatles hit that this funny underwater turtle and
built.
Meanwhile, everything is not so – but much more serious! This is a tiny cute monster with olive wood paneling – nothing more than a submarine “Iktineo” – the creation of an ingenious Catalan
inventor Narciss Monturiol .
Launched at Barcelona in 1859th, the boat was the embodiment of the most innovative technical ideas of that time.