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Prince Felipe opens Spain's new Army Museum
Spain’s new Army Museum opened in Toledo on Monday July 19 2010, some four years late and with an initial budget of 27 million €. In fact it cost 101 million to transfer the museum to its new home, with 75% of the cost being met by the Ministry for Culture and the rest by the Ministry for Defence.
The museum’s old home was in the Palacio del Buen Retiro, in the heart of Madrid but now it takes pride of place at the El Alcázar in Toledo.
It was 14 years ago when the José María Aznar government ordered the transfer of the museum, to create the space for an expansion to the Prado Museum.
The new 21 room, 8,000 square metre facility was opened by the Prince of Asturias, joined by the Ministers for Defence and Culture, Carme Chacón and Ángeles González-Sinde, and the President of Castilla-La Mancha, José María Barreda.
The moving of the museum which was originally founded in 1803, has generated a large amount of controversy, not least when the extension built in Toledo revealed a succession of archaeological remains of Roman, Visigoth, Arab and Christian origin, which now form part of the new museum’s attractions.
The Museum Director is also new. Antonio Izquierdo has only been in the job for two months. He had been accused of leaving out the ‘Division Azul’ exhibit from the new venue, but has said that space restrictions mean that only 6,500 items can be shown in total. 30 objects from the Divsion Azul which Franco sent to support Hitler are part of the display on the Second World War.
Minister for Defence, Carme Chacón said in her speech that the museum has the obligation of being ‘absolutely rigorous’ in its reflection of history while the Prince described the venue as ‘the best army museum in the world’.
700,000 are expected to visit the new museum every year.
The museum’s old home was in the Palacio del Buen Retiro, in the heart of Madrid but now it takes pride of place at the El Alcázar in Toledo.
It was 14 years ago when the José María Aznar government ordered the transfer of the museum, to create the space for an expansion to the Prado Museum.
The new 21 room, 8,000 square metre facility was opened by the Prince of Asturias, joined by the Ministers for Defence and Culture, Carme Chacón and Ángeles González-Sinde, and the President of Castilla-La Mancha, José María Barreda.
The moving of the museum which was originally founded in 1803, has generated a large amount of controversy, not least when the extension built in Toledo revealed a succession of archaeological remains of Roman, Visigoth, Arab and Christian origin, which now form part of the new museum’s attractions.
The Museum Director is also new. Antonio Izquierdo has only been in the job for two months. He had been accused of leaving out the ‘Division Azul’ exhibit from the new venue, but has said that space restrictions mean that only 6,500 items can be shown in total. 30 objects from the Divsion Azul which Franco sent to support Hitler are part of the display on the Second World War.
Minister for Defence, Carme Chacón said in her speech that the museum has the obligation of being ‘absolutely rigorous’ in its reflection of history while the Prince described the venue as ‘the best army museum in the world’.
700,000 are expected to visit the new museum every year.
(You can find a photo for this story at Typically Spanish - Click here)