World cultures Las Ventas con Peña Aguilera, Castilla–La Mancha

Etnomuseo Privado de los Pueblos Indígenas de Siberia

Private open-air ethnographic museum in the Montes de Toledo, with full-scale dwellings of the peoples of Siberia and Central Asia.

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About the museum

The Ethnomuseum is a private initiative, without grants or sponsorship, promoted and financed by the anthropologist Carmen Arnau Muro from Toledo, who has taken part in numerous scientific expeditions and has carried out fieldwork among the indigenous communities of Siberia. Its aim is to make these peoples known and to preserve their ethnographic heritage.

In 2005 a plot of around 40,000 square metres was acquired in the Montes de Toledo, in the municipality of Las Ventas con Peña Aguilera, and the first structure was erected: an octagonal yurt typical of the steppe of southern Siberia. Then came a bania (log sauna) and a wooden latrine, built by Buryats, and in 2013 the balagan, the traditional Yakut dwelling of the tundra, was opened, built with voluntary labour. In 2015 a chardat, a Yakut funerary building, was constructed.

From 2015 the field of study was extended to Central Asia, and in 2017 a Buryat-Mongol yurt and a Kazakh yurt were installed, the latter donated by a foundation from Kazakhstan. Inside the dwellings are displayed household utensils, costumes, handicrafts and musical instruments; the collections also include objects made of birch bark.

Each year the museum organises activities such as a theatre performance in March, an intercultural meeting in spring and a children's festival in October.

Highlights

Village of full-scale dwellings: yurts, a Yakut balagan and a bania
Buryat-Mongol and Kazakh yurts, the latter donated by a Kazakhstan foundation
Chardat, a traditional Yakut funerary building
Costumes, musical instruments and objects of birch bark
Guided tours in six languages and free admission

Permanent exhibition

Poblado de viviendas tradicionales de Siberia y Asia Central – Full-scale structures of the tundra, taiga and steppe (yurts, balagan, bania, chardat) with household utensils, costumes, handicrafts and musical instruments inside.

Operated by: Fundación Carmen Arnau Muro

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission, including to scheduled events.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Family tours & workshops

Every year, on the first Sunday in October, a children's festival of cultural diversity is held, with a drawing competition, a workshop for assembling an ethnic dwelling, games and music, with free admission.