Interest Places Museums Interest Places MuseumsMelilla has preserved a large collection of historical documents from its rich written patrimony at the King's Hospital, which serves as a physical and symbolic space to give testimony to the existence of the people of Melilla.
Collections of Historical Documents
MELILLA HISTORIC ARCHIVES Created in 1969. This collection contains the official notary documents from the War of Melilla and the Chafarine Islands (18th and 19th centuries).
CENTRAL ARCHIVES OF MELILLA Created in 1987. This archive holds the collection of the City Council (1879-1927) and the Municipal Board (1931-1995). Other administrative documents have been added which are historical or which were produced by the Autonomous City of Melilla (Melilla Archives, Quincentennial, Land Registry) as well as from other geographic areas (Velez-Malaga Archive).
GRAPHICAL COLLECTIONS include collections of photographs, nautical charts and engravings. The articles in these collections date from the early 18th century to the present.
THE CANDIDO LOBERA LIBRARY offers a specialised collection dedicated to authors from Melilla and issues related to Melilla, as well as the Spanish protectorate in Morocco and Amazigh culture.
THE ARCHIVE'S TECHNICAL LIBRARY. A collection specialising in archive and library-related issues.
Diffusion of Patrimony
PUBLISHING SERVICE, with a collection of one hundred ten published titles. This organisation publishes works by authors from Melilla and books on issues related to Melilla.
CULTURAL EXTENSION: programming cultural and informational activities (Book Week, exhibits, conferences).
RESEARCHERS' HALL, with sixteen posts.
Melilla's Municipal Museum was created at the beginning of the 20th century when Rafael Fernandez de Castro started to collect pieces and material found in the excavations carried out on the San Lorenzo hillside. Located in the City Council building, this collection of pieces was not officially considered a museum at first, since the pieces dug up during the excavations were not catalogued, nor were they shown to the public.
It was not until many years later that the Municipal Museum first appeared as such, originally being located under the bandstand which had been built in Hernandez Park. The founding of this museum marked the first time that the citizens of Melilla were able to come into contact with their city's history. The building's precarious structure and the incomplete presentation of the collection's pieces soon led local policy-makers to believe that the museum needed a new and better location.
In the middle of the 20th century, the "La Concepción" Bastion became the new home to a historical museum which contained two main sections: Archaeology and Documentation, with additional collections of military items and heraldic symbols. The museum was relocated to this Bastion, located inside the First Fortified Area of the Old Melilla, and it remained there until the 1980's.
The Museum of Archaeology and History of Melilla is currently located inside the Torre de la Vela. Located in Pedro de Estopiñan Square, this building is in the heart of the city's First Fortified Area. It started being used as a museum in 1987 and was most recently renovated in 1997 to make it suitable to meet the high standards of the socalled "new museology." Ever since then it has had the layout which it features nowadays, with three levels and a five-storey tower.
The Municipal Museum is divided up into 5 sections: Prehistory, Ancient Coins, Classic Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern and Contemporary Age.
1. Prehistory. This section is the first permanent exhibit hall that the museum offers. Here you can see a collection of prehistoric utensils from Melilla, the flint quarries from Sidi Guariach, Arroyo Farhana and nearby regions. Arrowheads, polished stone axes and scrapers are just some of the pieces that provide evidence of the presence of humans in Melilla and its surroundings in the Neolithic and Palaeolithic ages.
To make prehistoric life more comprehensible, the Museum has installed an exhibit recreating and reconstructing some of the most common tools used by Prehistoric man.
Thanks to this initiative by the Municipal Museum of Melilla, visitors of all ages can see what prehistoric knives were like, how cave paintings were prepared, where our ancestors got their water from and how they made fire.
2. Ancient Coins. This is one of the Museum's special attractions, featuring an exhibit of coins from one of the most important findings in the history of the Western Mediterranean: when the port of Melilla was dredged, more than ten thousand coins were found, most of which were from the Punic Age. Nonetheless, the collection's most important pieces are three Phoenician coins which were found in the excavations carried out at the Governor's House in 2000 and 2002. Two of them were minted in the ancient village of Rusadir (the Phoenician name for Melilla) in the first century B.C., while the other is originally from Tamuda, a Moroccan town near Tetuan. Grains of wheat, a honey bee and a bunch of grapes are some of the symbols to be found on these coins, symbols either of the region's economic prosperity or perhaps of the goddess Astarte. The other side of the coin often depicts the human figure of a king or divinity. The exhibit also contains a series of models explaining how the coins were cast and minted.
3. Classical Antiquity. Featuring a variety of pieces taken mainly from the excavations carried out in the early 20th century at the necropolis located on the San Lorenzo hillside, this is the museum's best known hall. The Classical Antiquity exhibit contains sections on Everyday Objects, Cooking and Kitchen Ceramics, Foreign Relations, Religion, and Burial Rites and Rituals.
4.- The Middle Ages. This hall was added on to the museum after it was renovated in 1997. Due to the scarcity of pieces in the original collection, the exhibit originally contained models of what the city looked like in medieval times. However, a campaign of excavations carried out in Melilla led to the uncovering of several silos containing medieval ceramics, allowing this section of the museum to grow substantially. Spectacular coins and ceramics from the Caliphate, Nasrid, Marinid and Almohad dynasties are some of this hall's most prized pieces.
5. The Modern and Contemporary Ages. The presence of the Spain in Melilla and the construction of its Renaissance fortification are this hall's central themes. The exhibit includes a wide range of ceramic materials used between the 15th and 18th centuries. It also features scale models of what the city looked like in the Contemporary Age, showing how Melilla's current borders were drawn. The hall is rounded off by exhibits on the architectural style which has defined the city since the beginning of the 20th century: modernism.
The long-standing presence of military forces in Melilla is a well-known part of the city's identity, starting when it was founded by Phoenician colonizers and continuing today with the ongoing presence of the Spanish military. Melilla's strategic location has made it the centre of numerous battles and struggles for survival that have spanned millennia. The significance of the military in Melilla's past and present sparked the creation of the city's Military History Museum.
The Museo Building
The Military History Building is located in the Bastion of La Concepción at the highest point in Old Melilla or Villa Nueva, at the north-eastern end of the First Fortified Area, on top of a rocky breakwater that flanks the "Galapagos cove", which also serves as a line of defence. This walled area's perimeter follows the rough and rocky shape of the terrain and includes a series of different elements which together are called the BASTION OF THE PURISIMA CONCEPCION.
Construction of the building started in the 16th century and was completed in the late 18th century. Built as a defensive bastion, subsequent additions made it successively higher until it achieved the same height as the Cubo Hillside. The upper "Caballero" walkway, situated opposite the "Padrastro" walkway (which was the hillside's previous name), was built as a way of fighting against fire, which posed the greatest threat in attacks against the city. The building was used as a gunpowder warehouse, prison, weather station, and was even taken over as a home by poor people during years of neglect, until it was finally converted into the Municipal Museum in 1953. The Municipal Museum stayed in the building until it was moved to the Clock Tower, which is currently home to the city's new Archaeological Museum.
After the City of Melilla ceded the building to the General Military Command in 1997, the museum opened its doors on 15th July 1997 as part of an exhibit titled "The 5th Centennial of Military History," an act which was presided over by the city's top civil and military authorities. The museum's first director was Colonel Miguel Garcia Caballero. The museum covers a total surface area of 1,100 m² and comprises the following sections:
THE BASTION OF LA CONCEPCION ALTA
Built on top of La Concepcion Baja, its northern side
contains a Battery with cannon racks for four cannons and
a terrace for three mortars. This bastion is the highest point
in Old Melilla, providing and excellent panoramic view of
the city. The Spanish flag flies over the bastion and visitors
often stop here to receive explanations of the city's long
and fascinating history. All four of the city's Fortified Areas
can be seen from this point.
TWO TERRACES JOINED BY A RAMP
This section consists of the old ramp used to transport
artillery equipment, which has now been converted into a
stairway. It is often used for Temporary Outdoor Exhibits
and covers a surface area of 800 m².
GUNPOWDER WAREHOUSE
This building's two floors contain the museum's main
Exhibit Halls. The Lower Floor can be accessed by going
down a "snake-tongue" staircase that ends in the old San
Sebastian Tower. Exhibit space: 216 m²
THE OLD WAREHOUSE
Built directly next to the entrance gate, this small structure
currently houses the Museum Offices.
THE SENTINEL'S POST
Located on the left side of the entrance.
In the near future, the Bastion of La Concepcion Baja and the well-known Chronicler's Office (and possibly the Lighthouse Keeper's House, which was built in the early 1900's and may be demolished) will be ceded by the city and included as part the museum, thus becoming part of the "La Concepcion" Historical-Artistic Monument.
COLLECTION
The Museum has a collection of five hundred sixty six (566) pieces, which are currently being recatalogued. When the museum was created in 1997, most pieces were provided by the City of Melilla's collections and from the Military Museum in Madrid. All pieces are directly or indirectly related to the history of Melilla and its Units.
Pieces have been classified in the following categories:
1. WEAPONS: Swords and knives, catapults, short, long, automatic, artillery
2. MUNITIONS: Projectiles, parts and accessories, cartridges/explosives
3. VEHICLES; TRANSMISSIONS; TOPOGRAPHY AND SUPPLIES
4. FLAGS AND COATS OF ARMS, INSIGNIAS/AWARDS, UNIFORMS/ATTIRE
5. REPRODUCTIONS AND MINIATURES
6. HISTORICAL MEMORABILIA
7. FINE ARTS: Paintings, drawings, sculptures, applied arts, engravings, photographs/photocopies
8. EPIGRAPHY, COIN COLLECTIONS, STAMP COLLECTIONS
9. MANUSCRIPTS, PRINTS, CARTOGRAPHY
ON PERMANENT EXHIBIT
All the museum's pieces are grouped into small collections and are on exhibit in the Museum's Permanent Collection, with very few items remaining in storage.
Two of these pieces are:
SCALE MODEL OF MELILLA SQUARE (1846)
This model was made in the mid 1800's by Leon Gil de
Palacio, a hero of the Spanish War of Independence who
served as Brigadier of Arms in Artillery.
He also made the famous scale model of Madrid which is on exhibit in the Municipal Museum of Madrid. The King Ferdinand VII distinguished him for his service and commissioned him to make small-scale reproductions of all the Royal Places on the Spanish mainland, islands and territories.
The model shows the way the Square was laid out in Four Fortified Areas after it was reconstructed after damage caused by the siege of 1774-1775. The model's preciseness and exactitude allow visitors to identify all buildings, bastions and fortresses. You can also see enemy attacks and the strategic mine and countermine systems, as well as the underground tunnels making it possible to get from one fortified area to another.
DRAWING OF THE LIMITS OF MELILLA SQUARE
This piece contains the original drawing of the limits made
in 1862 by Captain Piñar as a consequence of the Treaty of
1859, which was subsequently renewed in the 1860 Peace
Treaty after the so-called "Romantic War" (Peace of Tetuan)
and which took nearly two years to be formalised due to
the absence of the Moroccan Commission. Once the Spanish
Protectorate in Morocco and its independence had been
finalised, Spain returned to the old limits of Sovereignty,
demarcated by the eighteen (18) markers of 1862.
The Museum provides information on all its pieces to help visitors understand the characteristics and significance of the exhibits.
The Museum also includes a Technical Library containing rare pieces on military-related issues, with more than 700 volumes of books and magazines. In the future, when the Museum is expanded with the cession of the Concepción Baja, a small Research Centre on military history resources will be created.
Permanent Exhibit on Egypt
In 1987 Gustavo Cabanillas, President of the Gaselec Foundation, travelled to Egypt for the first time. Seduced by the country's ancient history and culture, he started amassing a private collection of exact replicas of the country's most emblematic pieces. Subsequent trips allowed him to substantially expand his collection. On 17th September 2003 The Gaselec Foundation's Permanent Exhibit on Egypt was opened in an altruistic effort of its founder to share the marvels he had obtained over the course of his journeys with the larger public.
An exact replica of the bust of Nefertiti, a copy of the Rosetta stone and a sacked Egyptian tomb are just some of this museum's attractions. Featuring more than 850 reproductions of real pieces from Ancient Egypt, the museum aims to be a place where the young and old alike can enjoy both the museum's artefacts and its interactive activities, which include a computer which translates our words into hieroglyphics and a hall showing more than 50 documentaries on Egyptian civilizations.
The museum is located in the Gaselec Foundation's Exhibit Hall and has three floors which are laid out as follows:
Ground Floor. This section's most striking piece, while unrelated to Egypt or the world of the Pharaohs, is an enormous door from 1893 which originally belonged to the Headquarters of the Spanish Civil Guard in Melilla and was recovered by Gaselec when the building, located in the Mantelete neighbourhood, was demolished.
The rest of the floor contains some 250 photographs on Egypt and miniature reproductions of Egyptian statues. There is also a small gift shop for visitors who would like to take home a souvenir from our museum dedicated to this legendary country.
First Floor. This section's most prized jewel is a reproduction of the Tutankhamen's tomb made by Juan Jose Llorens, where visitors can see detailed views of the inside of the pyramid and discover its secret passageways and entrances to the burial chamber. Large maps show what Ancient Egypt's main cities were like and who governed them at the time. Detailed explanations are given of Tutankhamen's dynasty, on what was included in his tomb and on when it was discovered. This exhibit allows visitors to relive the fabled discovery of one of Egypt's hidden treasures.
This floor also features an exhibit on the inside of a sacked Egyptian tomb, as well as a section where visitors can watch more than 50 documentaries lasting 30 minutes each on the history of the Pharaohs, their gods and their extraordinary mummification techniques. Don't forget to visit the bathroom on this floor, where a curious surprise is hidden behind the door.
Second Floor. "I see wonderful things." These were the only words spoken by the awe-struck Howard Carter when he first saw the inside of Tutankhamen's tomb. It was November 26, 1922 when he finally found the Pharaoh's tomb after seven long years of endless searching. Exact replicas of the original treasures found there and an exhaustive analysis of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon's work in the Valley of the Kings are this floor's greatest attractions. Visitors can also see an exact copy of Tutankhamen's sarcophagus, as well as 65 panels with more than 275 photographs and detailed information about the events that unfolded when the burial chamber was opened.
And we must not forget the fascinating world of hieroglyphics! This floor also contains a large space dedicated to the Rosetta stone and its innumerable scholars.
An exhibit on how and what Ancient Egyptians ate is just one of the many curiosities located on this floor, where visitors can also check out realistic reproductions of mummies, as well as 850 replicas of pieces organised by theme.
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