Museo de Ciencias Naturales y Etnográfico de los Padres Paúles

About the museum

The museum preserves the natural history cabinet that the Padres Paúles formed at the end of the 19th century. The collections were assembled between 1894 and 1899, initially for the congregation’s college-seminary in Madrid, and the priest Mariano Díez Tobar, posted to Villafranca del Bierzo from 1900, helped expand the cabinet, which came to hold nearly 4,000 pieces. The Paúles have run the building of San Nicolás el Real, dating from the early 17th century and a Bien de Interés Cultural since 2008, since 1913.

The Asociación Cultural BurVal (Burbia-Valcarce) recovered the museum together with Villafranca del Bierzo town council and with scientific support from the University of Vigo, and it opened to the public in 2010. The collection was recognised as a museum collection in 2013 and was integrated into the museum system of Castilla y León in 2014.

The holdings include seashells, mainly from the Philippines, Cuba and New Zealand, as well as stuffed birds, fish, mammals and reptiles, fossils, minerals, tropical woods and a few archaeological pieces. Room 1 is the main room, with 30 display cases; in room 3, at the entrance, the giants and cabezudos (traditional festival figures) of the town are displayed.

Highlights

• Some 4,000 natural science pieces gathered by the Paúl missionaries
• Stuffed birds, mainly from the Philippines, and a large collection of seashells
• More than 600 minerals and more than 200 fossils
• Tropical woods and archaeological pieces
• Giants and cabezudos of Villafranca del Bierzo in the entrance room

Permanent exhibition

• Gabinete de ciencias naturales de los Padres Paúles – Seashells, stuffed birds and other animals, fossils, minerals and woods gathered by the Paúl missionaries, in room 1 with 30 display cases.

Founded

2010

Operated by

Asociación Cultural BurVal (titularidad); gestión del Ayuntamiento de Villafranca del Bierzo

Admission & discounts

General admission from €1 (according to one source, up to €2); groups, €1. Please confirm the current rate at the Tourist Office.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is in the monastery of San Nicolás el Real, on the Travesía de San Nicolás, in Villafranca del Bierzo (León).

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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