Museu do Abade de Baçal

About the museum

The museum was created in 1915 as the Museu Regional de Obras de Arte, Peças Arqueológicas e Numismática de Bragança, also known as the Municipal Museum. In 1925 the direction passed to Father Francisco Manuel Alves, the Abade de Baçal, a historian and ethnographer of the region, and in 1935, the year of his retirement, the institution was given his name.

The building is the former Episcopal Palace of Bragança, which passed into State ownership with the establishment of the Republic in 1910. It was remodelled several times, notably in the 1930s, and classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1986. In 1994 the museum incorporated the adjacent building, of which only the main façade was kept, and the premises received a new exhibition programme.

The collection brings together archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, sculpture, goldsmiths’ work, furniture, textiles, painting and drawing. The permanent exhibition runs through fourteen rooms devoted to the history of north-eastern Trás-os-Montes, from prehistory and the Roman period to religious art and Portuguese naturalist painting.

Highlights

• Territory Room with foral charters, a papal bull of the Diocese of Miranda do Douro and watercolours of pillories
• Pre-Roman and Roman archaeology of the region
• Chapel of the former Episcopal Palace
• Goldsmiths’ work and furniture from the Sá Vargas bequest, and faience from the Cagigal collection
• Portuguese naturalist painting and works by Abel Salazar
• Illustrations by Almada Negreiros

Permanent exhibition

• Exposição permanente – Fourteen rooms on the history of north-eastern Trás-os-Montes, from archaeology and sacred art to furniture, goldsmiths’ work and Portuguese painting of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Founded

1915

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Portuguese citizens and residents of Portugal have free admission on 52 days a year, at their choice, upon presentation of the citizen card or proof of address.

There are also other exemptions, for example for teachers and students on educational visits with prior booking, unemployed persons resident in the European Union and former combatants.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• 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

Exhibition spaces fully accessible to persons with reduced mobility, with ramps to all rooms and a lift to the upper floor and the toilets.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The education service organises activities for families and schools, for example Easter workshops.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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