Add a review about the Museum of Cerralbo in Madrid

In Madrid, if you want, you can not go to the big famous museums, if you do not want to - you can do with small (or rather, relatively small). And the collections in them will be interesting, and the whole day will not be needed.

The small Cerralbo museum (and we will talk about it) can really only be called relative: it has more than 50,000 exhibits. Its uniqueness is that it is not just a museum, but a fully preserved apartment house, with furniture, things, etc.

The owner of the house, the Marquis Serralbo, created the collection. He himself almost did not live there, he used only to store the collection, well, for his visits to Madrid and the device of social entertainments. He spent most of his life traveling in Europe, and the collection reflects this very well. In addition to traveling, the Marquis took two more things: history and politics, and this also affected the composition of the collection.

There are a lot of things here, but the most famous part of the collection is books.

Collection

The Marquis did not collect anything one specific, so the museum has many small sections. The largest section is devoted to archeology. Exhibits of different ages since prehistoric times, there are Greek and Roman antiquities. The collection of objects found on the territory of Spain deserves special attention: there are not many of them to see so much at once, especially in a private collection.

There is a large collection of ceramics nearby, mostly porcelain, like European (Sevres, Limoges, Meissen, etc.) .), and Asian - Chinese and Japanese. But there is also ancient Greek ceramics in very good condition.

The most interesting department of weapons is medieval. There are shields, armor, helmets, swords and much more.

Large sections of drawing, engraving, sculpture and photography (the latter, by the way, was a rarity in those times). Especially impressive is the collection of drawings - there are a lot of wonderful Spanish artists.

But the most famous part of the collection is books. The Marquis was one of the largest Spanish collectors of books. His private collection could be envied by any museum: there are publications from the 15th century. The creator of the collection was fond of printed books. The first printed books were created in Germany - and samples in this collection are: books created in the 15th century in Nuremberg, in one of the world's first printing workshops. There are also books of the 16th century printed in Paris and in Venice.

Also there are large collections of watches (from the 18th century) and carpets (there are among other things the most interesting draperies, the oldest in the 16th century).

Another part of the collection reflects the political interests of the owner: they are medals, coins and documents.

The special difference between the museum is that it is a museum in an apartment building. There are no stands here - the collection is placed as the creator placed it, taking its place in the living rooms. They have preserved furniture, some personal items, original decor, and in general this is a separate landmark - the home of a Spanish, but cosmopolitan-minded aristocrat of the early 20th century. The museum turned into a museum in 1934
Collection overview

Practical information

Address: Madrid, C. Ventura Rodriguez, 17.

For the trip, there are 3 metro stations right away: Ventura Rodriguez, Plaza de Espana and Noviciado.

Working hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 to 15:00, Thursday from 17:00 to 20:00, Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00. Monday - the day off.

Ticket price: 3 EUR (for autumn 2014), free admission to the museum on Saturdays from 14:00 and on Sundays (all day). On Thursdays at 17:00 there is a free guided tour. There are audioguides in Spanish, English and French.