Museu dels Sants d'Olot
Museum in Olot on religious imagery, showing how the saints were made, with a working workshop visible from the galleries.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museu dels Sants was set up and opened in 2007 in the neo-Gothic building known as “Art Cristià”, which Joaquim Vayreda commissioned from the architect Joaquim Codina i Matalí in 1890. The first workshop of religious imagery in Olot was located in this building, founded in 1880 by Joaquim Vayreda, Josep Berga Boix and Valentí Carrera. Over time more than thirty workshops operated in the town, employing over 1,500 people, and from them came sculptors such as Miquel Blay, Josep Llimona, Joaquim Claret and Celestí Devesa. Festive figures were also made, such as the giants of Olot (1888). The writer Marian Vayreda lived on the first floor of the building and wrote the novel “La punyalada” there.
The museum explains the making of the saints across several rooms: the model room, the moulding and retouching room (in the basement) and the painting and decoration room (on the ground floor). It preserves unfinished models and moulds, painted and decorated saints, nativity figures and festive pieces from the faràndula, such as the Drac del Carme, the Cucut and the Xurruca, as well as works by Ramon Amadeu. Large windows overlook a working workshop, so the whole process can be seen, from making the moulds to hand painting.
The museum is part of the Museus d'Olot, together with the Museu de la Garrotxa and the Casa Museu Can Trincheria, all less than three minutes' walk from one another.
Highlights
- The full process of making saints, from moulds to hand painting
- Working workshop visible through large windows
- Pieces of the faràndula: giants and festive figures of Olot
- Models, moulds and painted saints from the imagery workshops
- Neo-Gothic “Art Cristià” building of 1890, Olot's first imagery workshop
Permanent exhibition
- Exposición permanente: la fabricación de los santos – Tour over three floors explaining the religious imagery of Olot, with models, moulds, painted figures, festive pieces and a working workshop.
- Founded
- 2007
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €3.50 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €1.75Retired people, organised groups and large families (50% discount). |
| Seniors | €1.7550% discount for retired people. |
| Visitors with disabilities | freeFree admission for people with a recognised disability. |
| Students & apprentices | freeFree admission for students and holders of the Carnet Jove. |
| Groups | €1.75 per person50% discount for organised groups. |
| Families | €1.7550% discount for large families. |
| Combined ticket with the Museu de la Garrotxa | €4.50Valid for 30 days. |
Free admission: The first Sunday of each month.
Free admission also for unemployed people and linguistic partners (parelles lingüístiques). Bookings for people at risk of social exclusion are made through Apropa Cultura.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Step-free access with a platform lift to the left of the main entrance (you need to ring the bell, which is more than 140 cm up; you can give notice in advance by telephone or email). Wheelchair on free loan at reception. Three accessible toilets (men's and women's on the ground floor and a unisex one on the first floor). The three floors are linked by stairs and a lift with Braille and raised buttons. Benches along the route, signage with pictograms and a plan at the start. Some original objects can be touched, although there is not yet audio description or Braille. The ground-floor audiovisual is subtitled in Catalan, Spanish, English and French, with sign-language interpreters. Induction loop at reception; ear defenders and stress toys for visitors with autism or sensory sensitivity. Assistance dogs may enter the whole building. A printed content guide in Spanish, French and English is available.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Family ticket | €1.75 · 50% discount for large families. |
|---|
- Hands-on stations
Four fixed interactive activities along the route: the giant of Olot game, a stained-glass game and two “Toca, toca!” activities. Ear defenders and stress toys for children with autism, ADHD or high sensitivity to noise.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Estación de autobuses de Teisa · 5-min walk
The Teisa bus station (Calle del Bisbe Lorenzana, 20) is about 5 minutes' walk away, with a step-free route; it offers inter-urban services to Girona, Figueres, Lleida, Barcelona and Vic. The local TPO lines B, C and D also stop there.
By car
Four public spaces for people with reduced mobility less than 5 minutes' walk away, one of them on Calle de Joaquim Vayreda, 6, opposite the museum.
- Accessible parking
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided visits for groups on request and subject to availability (serveis.pedagogics@olot.cat); a regular offer of guided visits is planned. There is a content guide to the rooms in Spanish, French and English. |
