San Telmo Museum (San Sebastian)
The San Telmo Museum, inaugurated in 1932, is the main museum institution in San Sebastian. Its objective is to portray the evolution that Basque society has experienced through fine arts and ethnography. After an ambitious renovation and restoration between 2007 and 2010, it became one of the most modern and attractive museums in the Basque Country.
The headquarters of the museum is an old and splendid Dominican convent dating from the 16th century with a design that fuses the Gothic and Renaissance styles. After its confiscation in 1836 and subsequent declaration as a National Monument in 1913, the convent was acquired by the City Council in 1928 to serve as the museum's headquarters.
The San Telmo Museum has two floors. The lower one, where the church and cloister are located, is dedicated to archaeology, while the upper one, distributed over two enormous exhibition spaces, is dedicated to ethnography and is an important art gallery featuring Basque painters.
The museum's collection of works of art is splendid and covers an enormous variety. It includes valuable artefacts from ancient Egypt and Basque ethnographic pieces and artefacts, including samples of ceramics, textiles and Roman vestiges, as well as important pre-Columbian pieces and a spectacular pictorial exhibition including artists such as El Greco, Mariano Fortuny, Joaquín Sorolla and Peter Paul Rubens.
In 2015, the San Telmo Museum exceeded 120,000 visits, establishing itself as an important regional museum.
The headquarters of the museum is an old and splendid Dominican convent dating from the 16th century with a design that fuses the Gothic and Renaissance styles. After its confiscation in 1836 and subsequent declaration as a National Monument in 1913, the convent was acquired by the City Council in 1928 to serve as the museum's headquarters.
The San Telmo Museum has two floors. The lower one, where the church and cloister are located, is dedicated to archaeology, while the upper one, distributed over two enormous exhibition spaces, is dedicated to ethnography and is an important art gallery featuring Basque painters.
The museum's collection of works of art is splendid and covers an enormous variety. It includes valuable artefacts from ancient Egypt and Basque ethnographic pieces and artefacts, including samples of ceramics, textiles and Roman vestiges, as well as important pre-Columbian pieces and a spectacular pictorial exhibition including artists such as El Greco, Mariano Fortuny, Joaquín Sorolla and Peter Paul Rubens.
In 2015, the San Telmo Museum exceeded 120,000 visits, establishing itself as an important regional museum.
Location
What to see in San Sebastian
