Cartagena Naval Museum, Cartagena

The Cartagena Naval Museum is a prominent military museum with a focus on naval construction. It operates as a subsidiary of the Naval Museum of Madrid and has played a pivotal role in preserving the maritime heritage of the region. The museum's journey, from its original location to its current headquarters, reflects its deep-rooted connection to Spain's naval history.

The Naval Museum of Cartagena was officially inaugurated on July 8, 1986. The museum found its initial home in a building constructed in 1926 under the guidance of architect Lorenzo Ros. Eventually, the Spanish Navy reclaimed the building and repurposed it as the Cartagena Naval Museum.

In recent times, the museum has been relocated to a new headquarters along the city's picturesque seafront. This new location is within the former Maritime Instruction Headquarters, an architecturally significant building dating back to the mid-eighteenth century. It was designed by the military engineer Mateo Vodopich and has played diverse roles over the years.

Initially, it functioned as the State Penitentiary Center (from 1824) and later as a Presidio (from 1910). Following the Spanish Civil War, it was repurposed as Barracks for the Instruction of Sailors. An agreement signed in 2005 by the Ministry of Defense, the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the Polytechnic University of Cartagena facilitated the shared use of the building between the university and the naval museum.

Today, the museum's exhibitions are displayed in the southern half of the ground floor of this historic building, extending through its halls, the lobby, and the corridors. The Cartagena Naval Museum remains a significant institution, preserving and showcasing the rich maritime history and naval construction expertise that has shaped the region.