Museo Maritimo Vasco (Basque Maritime Museum), San Sebastian

The Museo Marítimo Vasco is a unique museum located in the port of Donostia in San Sebastian. The museum was founded in 1991 with the aim of preserving and expanding the maritime heritage and history of the Basque Country. The museum achieves its goals through various activities, including educational activities, research, publications, production of exhibitions, and the protection and recovery of maritime heritage.

The museum is housed in the tower house of the Consulate, an 18th-century building that was previously used as a house and warehouse for the Lieutenant of the Quay. The building has a rich history and has been used as a sea rescue center, a maritime school, and even had a small prison. In the 19th century, it passed into the hands of the State, and in the 1980s, it became the property of the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, who decided to locate the Basque Maritime Museum in the building.

The museum's holdings are impressive, with more than 7000 pieces, including engravings, paintings, photographs, posters, postcards, sea maps, plans, boats, ethnography, and objects of industrial heritage. The museum's collections cover a wide range of topics related to the sea and maritime activities.

The building has three floors, with the first and second floors hosting exhibitions and the third floor housing a library and archive specialized in maritime matters. The museum encourages research and publishes a magazine called Issas Memoria every two years. The first issue was released in 1996. Monographs have also been published with each exhibition, but due to financial problems, in recent years the publications have been made in digital media.

Overall, the Museo Marítimo Vasco is an essential destination for anyone interested in maritime heritage and history, with its impressive collections, exhibitions, and research opportunities.

The building has three floors, on the first and second floors exhibitions are held and on the third floor there is a library and archive specialized in maritime matters.

The museum encourages research and publishes a magazine called Issas Memoria every two years. The first issue was released in 1996. On the other hand, monographs have been published with each exhibition, but due to financial problems, in recent years the publications have been made in digital media.