Espaço Memória dos Exílios

About the museum

The Espaço Memória dos Exílios opened in February 1999 under Cascais Town Council, with the aim of commemorating one of the most significant episodes in the municipality's history. Between 1936 and 1955, and especially during the Second World War, the Cascais–Estoril axis served as a place of refuge, waiting and passage for thousands of exiles and refugees from the European conflicts: statesmen, kings without thrones, writers, artists, thinkers, spies and businesspeople, but also many anonymous people.

The space occupied the upper floor of the Correios do Estoril (Estoril post office) building, built in 1942 to a design by the modernist architect Adelino Nunes, in the centre of Estoril. The core of the permanent exhibition brings together photographs, objects and documentation from the period, and recreates the atmosphere of those decades, placing the stories of the exiles in the context of daily life in the town in the 1940s.

The facilities also included an auditorium, a room for temporary exhibitions and a specialised library on contemporary history, open to public consultation, with particular emphasis on the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, the Holocaust, exile, the Jews and the Estado Novo. The space is currently closed temporarily, and Cascais Town Council has announced that it will publish the new location.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition with photographs, objects and documents on famous and anonymous exiles
• Memory of the Costa do Sol as a refuge during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War
• Specialised library on contemporary history, the Holocaust and the Estado Novo
• Modernist Correios do Estoril building (1942) by architect Adelino Nunes

Permanent exhibition

• Exposição permanente – Photographs, objects and documents from the period on the exiles and refugees who passed through the Costa do Sol between 1936 and 1955, set against the local history of the 1940s.

Founded

1999

Operated by

Câmara Municipal de Cascais

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission (before the closure).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Wheelchair access at the entrance, in the reception area, in the interior circulation and in the exhibition spaces. There is an accessible toilet and parking for people with disabilities, enlarged-print text and accessibility in the surrounding streets. The touch material was unavailable for health and safety reasons.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The space used to offer hire of the auditorium.

Plan your visit