Religious museums

Col·lecció de carrosses fúnebres

Barcelona can boast of one of the most unusual religious museums in Europe. Located inside Montjuïc cemetery, it features a collection of funeral carriages and hearses from different eras and in different styles, alongside objects that will help us understand the different types of burials that took place throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. More than twenty vehicles, including carriages that bore the coffins and mourners, and motorised hearses, which were used at some of the largest funerals in Barcelona.

MUHBA - Museu d'Història de Barcelona - El Call

The building that was once a veil weaver's house is now the home of a branch of the city's history museum, the MUHBA, in the old Jewish Quarter, El Call. Its purpose is to provide an insight into the major contributions made by this community during the Middle Ages. Some of its members became important physicians and administrators to the monarchs of the Crown of Aragon. Others were involved in first-rate intellectual endeavours. like the jurist and rabbi Hasdai Cresques. The attack or pogrom against the community in El Call in 1391 led many of its residents to flee, resulting in its progressive decline.

MUHBA - Museu d'Història de Barcelona - Via Sepulcral Romana

A place where you can delve into Barcelona's Roman past, just off La Rambla. The site will help you understand the funeral beliefs and rituals of the founders of the Roman city of Barcino. A path or sepulchral way in the open air lined with tombs dating from the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD, and an interpretation centre displaying objects found during the archaeological dig in the area.

Museu Diocesà de Barcelona

The museum is housed in a Gothic building that was once home to the Pia Almoina, a charitable religious institution set up more than a thousand years ago to help the poor and needy. Standing right next to Barcelona Cathedral, it brings together a series of religious works from the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance periods. Most of them come from the rich artistic heritage preserved by the churches that are part of the bishopric of Barcelona.

Museu Frederic Marès

This unique museum, next door to Barcelona Cathedral in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, is the result of the passion of the collector and sculptor Frederic Marès. As you step through the door, you'll enter a magical world showcasing a plethora of objects. Its holdings comprise 66,000 pieces spanning the Roman era to the middle of the 20th century.
Among the great variety of pieces, you'll find religious works ranging from Catalan Romanesque carvings to Renaissance and baroque Spanish and Andalusian sculptures. Not forgetting the wonderful displays of Coptic fabrics and religious clothing.
A setting where the quantity and quality of the objects live together in perfect harmony. A legacy Marès bequeathed to the city for the enjoyment of any visitor who wanted to understand the whys and wherefores of his curious love of collection.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

An absolute must for any art lover. Situated in the unique setting of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona, the museum contains one of the finest collections of European religious art of the last centuries. It also has the world's most important collection of Romanesque paintings and extensive holdings of Gothic art. They are complemented by some of the most outstanding works from Catalonia's home-grown art nouveau movement, modernisme, by Antoni Gaudí, Ramon Casas and Santiago Rusiñol.
Put in a nutshell, a chronological overview of the last ten centuries of the history of art, which showcases works by great masters from Spain and the rest of the world, including Titian, Velázquez, Goya, Rubens, Picasso and Dalí.

Cathedral chapterhouse and treasury

A selection of the cathedral's finest works of art are on display in the spectacular chapterhouse. They include baroque paintings, Gothic altarpieces and delicately crafted liturgical objects.

MUSEUMS NEAR BARCELONA

Museu de Montserrat

One of the finest museums in Spain which came about as a result of the donations and endeavours of the monk Bonaventura Ubach. The museum is part of the Montserrat Monastery complex in the unique setting of Mount Montserrat.
It is one of the museums where religious heritage is most widely represented. Gothic altarpieces, baroque paintings, silverware and goldware, and orthodox icons are displayed alongside an outstanding section dedicated to the civilisations featured in the pre-eminent book in the world of Christianity, the Bible. Ancient art from Mesopotamia and the Egypt of the pharaohs are displayed next to a gallery devoted to the patron saint of Catalonia. Our Lady of Montserrat, or La Moreneta.

Museu Episcopal de Vic

This museum, in the city of Vic, in the north of the province of Barcelona, has one of the most complete collections of medieval art in Europe. Some 30,000 religious works of art and objects that help us understand how people have experienced spirituality in Catalonia over the past centuries. A rich and varied collection of Gothic altarpieces and interesting displays of silverware, goldware, ceramics, clothing and coins.