Museu de la Noguera
Regional museum in Balaguer, housed in a building from 1995, with a permanent exhibition on the Andalusi and medieval city of Hisn Balaghí.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museu de la Noguera was founded under an agreement signed on 31 January 1983 between the Departament de Cultura of the Generalitat de Catalunya and Balaguer town council, which turned the former municipal museum, first housed in the Castell Formós and later on the second floor of the town hall, into a regional museum. The rich Andalusi and feudal heritage of the city weighed heavily in the decision.
Its first home was the former church of Sant Josep, an 18th-century building which, after refurbishment, opened on 22 May 1987. The current building is a new construction on the plaza dels Comtes d’Urgell, designed by the architects Humbert Costas and Manel Gomez, and inaugurated on 25 May 1995 with the exhibition “El Mestre de Balaguer (16th century)” and the Jardí Arqueològic del Castell Formós. The rooms of the permanent exhibition “Hisn Balaghí-Balaguer. De la madina a la ciutat” opened on 19 April 1997.
The collections are organised into archaeology, art and ethnography, and the museum also holds the Colección Nacional de Arqueología (Tanit). It acts as a reference centre for a group of the city's monuments, including the Castell Formós, the Pla d’Almatà archaeological site and the cloister of Sant Domènec. The entrance hall also has a tourist office.
Highlights
- Permanent exhibition “Hisn Balaghí-Balaguer: de la madina a la ciutat”
- Pieces from the Pla d’Almatà and the Castell Formós, such as 11th-century pottery and palace stucco work
- Memory of the Jewish community of Balaguer in the 15th century
- Collections of archaeology, art and ethnography
- 1995 building by Humbert Costas and Manel Gomez
Permanent exhibition
- Hisn Balaghí-Balaguer: de la madina a la ciutat – A tour of Balaguer's history from the Islamic period to the Late Middle Ages in four areas: al-Ándalus and the county of Urgell, the madina Balaghí, the Castell Formós and the city of Balaguer after the conquest of 1105.
- Founded
- 1983
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €3 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2Groups of at least 10 people, pensioners, students from 16 years old, unemployed people and holders of a Carné Joven |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 15 · Free admission for children under 16. |
| Seniors | €2Reduced fare for pensioners. |
| Students & apprentices | €2Reduced fare from 16 years old. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €2 per personGroups of at least 10 people; advance booking is required and groups without a booking are not admitted. |
| Combined ticket: museum plus guided tour and gold-searching workshop at the Centre d’Interpretació de l’Or del Segre | €5Reduced fare: €2.50 |
Free admission: 18 May (International Museum Day) and 9 and 10 November (festivities of the Santo Cristo).
Free admission also for members of ICOM, the Associació de Museòlegs de Catalunya, the Associació d’Arqueòlegs Professionals de Catalunya and the Societat Catalana d’Arqueologia, holders of a teaching card (carné docente) and holders of the card of the Voluntariat per la Llengua programme. Cash payments are not accepted.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The main entrance is step-free and the reception desk is adapted for wheelchair users. The temporary exhibition room is on level 0 and the permanent exhibition on level 1, reached by a large-capacity lift suitable for groups including wheelchair users. Corridors and doors are at least 80 cm wide. Accessible toilet on level 0, with a washbasin inside the cubicle, and baby-changing facilities. Four light portable chairs for visitors. Assistance dogs are allowed. Signs show the direction of the route; the permanent exhibition uses scent diffusers with a fragrance created for the display.
Kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 15 |
|---|
- Baby changing facilities
Baby-changing facilities in the accessible toilet on level 0.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
- Coat check: not available
- Lockers
No general cloakroom. Lockers with keys in the entrance hall, next to the reception desk, where backpacks must be left. Rest area with a hot-drinks vending machine. The Balaguer tourist office is in the entrance hall and opens during museum hours.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes (CA, ES, EN, FR) |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Theatrical audio guides in Catalan, Spanish, English and French, included in admission; leaflets with the permanent exhibition texts in Spanish, English and French. Guided tours for groups of at least 10 people, booked 15 days in advance, in Catalan, Spanish, English, French and Arabic: permanent exhibition (1 hour 30 minutes, €5 per person); “De la madina a la ciutat”, with a tour of the city and its monuments (€5 per person for the 1 hour 30 minute tour, €6 for the 3-hour tour and €8 for the 4-hour tour); and “La ciutat daurada”, with a workshop at the Centre d’Interpretació de l’Or del Segre (2 hours 30 minutes, €6 per person). |
