Lagum

About the museum

Lagum is the museum of the Sociedad de Amigos de Laguardia, an association founded in 1934 by the painter Carlos Sáenz de Tejada and by Álvaro de Gortázar, a descendant of the fabulist Samaniego. Founding a museum was one of its first initiatives, with the aim of gathering and displaying the historical and cultural heritage of the town and of the Rioja Alavesa region. The first pieces came from archaeological excavations promoted by the members, including those of the settlement of La Hoya, one of the most important sites in the Basque Country.

Over the years the collection grew with carved stones, antique weapons, funerary stelae, objects of trades and guilds, church pieces and a set of materials from the Civil War, until it became one of the most heterogeneous collections in the Basque Country. In 1960 the Provincial Council of Álava (Diputación de Álava) carried out the first inventory and the museum moved to the parish house of the church of San Juan; in the 1990s the Diputación handed the society a lonja (hall) on Calle Mayor, where it was installed permanently.

Since 2012 the museum has presented a permanent exhibition across three spaces: Prehistory, the Middle Ages, and the 19th and 20th centuries. The route covers the first inhabitants of the Sierra de Cantabria, the Hechicera dolmen, Romanisation, the founding of the town in 1164, the medieval walls and everyday life in more recent periods. The society also runs educational visits, group tours and teaching workshops, and maintains a campaign to conserve its ethnographic and trade collections.

Highlights

• Tour of Rioja Alavesa from prehistory to the 20th century across three spaces
• Materials from the La Hoya settlement and the Hechicera dolmen
• Thematic collections: church pieces, trades and guilds, Civil War
• Collection of pharmacy objects and 19th-century school items
• Group visits, educational visits and teaching workshops

Permanent exhibition

• Exposición permanente: Rioja Alavesa y Laguardia, de la prehistoria al siglo XX – Three spaces (Prehistory, the Middle Ages and the 19th and 20th centuries) that review the history of the town and the region with archaeological pieces, weapons, stelae and objects of everyday life.

Founded

1935

Operated by

Sociedad de Amigos de Laguardia

Admission & discounts

Admission: €1.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is on Calle Mayor, within the walled historic centre of Laguardia, about 44 km from Vitoria-Gasteiz, 16 km from Logroño and 110 km from Bilbao.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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Plan your visit