Museu de Alhandra – Casa Dr. Sousa Martins

About the museum

The Museu de Alhandra – Casa Dr. Sousa Martins opened on 3 March 1985 and occupies the house where the physician, professor and pharmacist José Tomás de Sousa Martins was born. The idea for the museum arose in 1962, during an exhibition marking the centenary of the Sociedade Euterpe Alhandrense, of which Sousa Martins was honorary president. In 1964 a set-up committee was formed to gather photographs, documents and objects about Alhandra's past. After a national public fundraising campaign, the building was acquired in 1984 and adapted into a museum.

The collection is limited to the parish of Alhandra and tells its story through documents, books, paintings, photographs, work tools, everyday objects and private collections. Social and economic aspects, industrialisation, associative life and the figures of Sousa Martins, Salvador Marques, Soeiro Pereira Gomes and Francisco Filipe dos Reis are well represented along the route.

The permanent exhibition is arranged by room: the local pre-industrial and industrial period, the life and personal belongings of Sousa Martins, everyday life between work and festivity, and sport in Alhandra, with a tribute to the swimmer Baptista Pereira. The museum also has a gallery for temporary exhibitions and talks, the Galeria Augusto Bértholo, and a small library on local history and heritage, available for on-site consultation. It is run in partnership between the Municipality of Vila Franca de Xira and the Junta de Freguesia de Alhandra.

Highlights

• House where Dr. Sousa Martins was born
• Room dedicated to documents and personal objects of Sousa Martins
• “Do Telhal à Fábrica” room on local industrialisation
• Ethnographic display of bullfighting costumes, campinos (herdsmen), firefighters and the town band
• Room on sport in Alhandra and the swimmer Baptista Pereira

Permanent exhibitions

• Sala Joaquim José Ferreira Gordo – «Do Telhal à Fábrica» – Covers the pre-industrial and industrial period in Alhandra.
• Sala Dr. Sousa Martins – Documents and objects for personal use by Dr. Sousa Martins.
• Sala Afonso de Albuquerque – «A vida quotidiana do trabalho à festa» – Ethnographic display of bullfighting costumes, campinos, firefighters, the town band and a bride's trousseau.

Founded

1985

Operated by

Município de Vila Franca de Xira / Junta de Freguesia de Alhandra, São João dos Montes e Calhandriz

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

Small library on local history and heritage, available for on-site consultation.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.