During our recent visit to Barcelona we made a special point of visiting the Museu Maritim de Barcelona (Barcelona Maritime Museum). It is located on the roundabout at the seaward end of Las Ramblas.
Museum Courtyard Entrance
The entrance courtyard to the Museum contained some unusual objects of maritime interest including a replica of the submarine Ictineo 1 (the original submarine was designed in 1859 by Narcis Monturiel), …
… an old dockside crane, …
… and the bridge of the trawler Saylemar, …
… which was originally operated from Cartagena.
Inside the Museum Entrance
The entrance foyer of the Museum contained a number of ship models of SS City of Paris, …
…the SS Pommeranian, …
… as well as a sectional model of the SS Ciudad de Sevilla.
There was also a model of the Barcelona seashore as it would have looked during the fifteenth century.
The Museum is housed in the buildings that were formerly used to construct galleys, and there are also several models in the entrance foyer that show its layout.
The Viking Exhibition
The exhibition began with a large tongue-in-cheek diorama of a ‘typical’ Viking village … made from Playmobil!
In fact the exhibition itself was extremely good, with excellent signage, a wonderful and wide-ranging collection of exhibits, and a magnificent layout.
My favourite exhibits were a carved stone that depicted the journey to Valhalla, …
… the iron rivets used to hold the bow of an excavated Viking ship together, displayed in the relative positions they were found in, …
… and a Viking helmet.
Renaissance Galley and Spanish boat collection
One section of the old galley building shed was taken up with a very impressive full-size replica of a Renaissance galley.
The rest of the building shed housed a collection of typical Spanish boats.
Antarctic Research
The museum contained a small exhibit devoted to Spanish exploration and research in the Antarctic.
A Voyage Overseas
Viatge mar enllà (A Voyage Overseas) was an exhibition that contained a number of vignettes that investigated what it meant to travel by ship through the ages.
It began with a number of models that showed the development of merchant ship. The first two were models of the fifteenth century merchant ships Coca de Mataró …
… and Niña.
These were followed by models of the Museum’s own schooner, Santa Eulàlia …
… and the SS Ana de Sala.
The exhibition included a model that showed how a sailing ship was careened (i.e. had barnacles and other marine growth removed from its bottom).
One painting depicted the use of a steamship to transport Catalan volunteers to Cuba to fight.
Some of the details in the painting were of particular interest.
A model of the flagship used by Don Juan of Austrian at the Battle of Lepanto was very impressive.
The modern age of steam was illustrated by a large model of the SS Infanta Isobel de Borbón …
… and an early locomotive-style ship’s boiler.
The use of ships in war was not ignored, and the exhibition included a model of the Spanish frigate Hijas da Pineda, …
… a painting of the Battle of Lepanto, …
… and a model HMS Victory.
After a break for a drink in the Museum’s café, we made our way down to the Old Port, where we were able to see the museum’s preserved schooner, Santa Eulàlia.
If you are going to Barcelona in the future, and have sufficient time, this Museum is worth visiting.
Museum Courtyard Entrance
The entrance courtyard to the Museum contained some unusual objects of maritime interest including a replica of the submarine Ictineo 1 (the original submarine was designed in 1859 by Narcis Monturiel), …
… an old dockside crane, …
… and the bridge of the trawler Saylemar, …
… which was originally operated from Cartagena.
Inside the Museum Entrance
The entrance foyer of the Museum contained a number of ship models of SS City of Paris, …
…the SS Pommeranian, …
… as well as a sectional model of the SS Ciudad de Sevilla.
There was also a model of the Barcelona seashore as it would have looked during the fifteenth century.
The Museum is housed in the buildings that were formerly used to construct galleys, and there are also several models in the entrance foyer that show its layout.
The Viking Exhibition
The exhibition began with a large tongue-in-cheek diorama of a ‘typical’ Viking village … made from Playmobil!
In fact the exhibition itself was extremely good, with excellent signage, a wonderful and wide-ranging collection of exhibits, and a magnificent layout.
My favourite exhibits were a carved stone that depicted the journey to Valhalla, …
… the iron rivets used to hold the bow of an excavated Viking ship together, displayed in the relative positions they were found in, …
… and a Viking helmet.
Renaissance Galley and Spanish boat collection
One section of the old galley building shed was taken up with a very impressive full-size replica of a Renaissance galley.
The rest of the building shed housed a collection of typical Spanish boats.
Antarctic Research
The museum contained a small exhibit devoted to Spanish exploration and research in the Antarctic.
A Voyage Overseas
Viatge mar enllà (A Voyage Overseas) was an exhibition that contained a number of vignettes that investigated what it meant to travel by ship through the ages.
It began with a number of models that showed the development of merchant ship. The first two were models of the fifteenth century merchant ships Coca de Mataró …
… and Niña.
These were followed by models of the Museum’s own schooner, Santa Eulàlia …
… and the SS Ana de Sala.
The exhibition included a model that showed how a sailing ship was careened (i.e. had barnacles and other marine growth removed from its bottom).
One painting depicted the use of a steamship to transport Catalan volunteers to Cuba to fight.
Some of the details in the painting were of particular interest.
A model of the flagship used by Don Juan of Austrian at the Battle of Lepanto was very impressive.
The modern age of steam was illustrated by a large model of the SS Infanta Isobel de Borbón …
… and an early locomotive-style ship’s boiler.
The use of ships in war was not ignored, and the exhibition included a model of the Spanish frigate Hijas da Pineda, …
… a painting of the Battle of Lepanto, …
… and a model HMS Victory.
After a break for a drink in the Museum’s café, we made our way down to the Old Port, where we were able to see the museum’s preserved schooner, Santa Eulàlia.
If you are going to Barcelona in the future, and have sufficient time, this Museum is worth visiting.
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