The museum
PRESENTATION
The Salamanca Motor Museum was opened to the public on the 1st of October 2002, as an exhibition, research and reference centre that includes every aspect of automobile history. It was inaugurated by HM the King and Queen of Spain. This was the first public-access automobile museum located in Spain.
The Museum is based on the Gómez-Planche Collection, with over one hundred vehicles, thousands of pieces, accessories and other automobile-related objects, as well as artefacts donated by private individuals, companies and institutions.
The Museum has a remarkable bibliographic archive and also has been ceded a unique collection by the Spanish General Directorate for Traffic.
En definitiva, una de las mejores colecciones existentes en España y Europa que pretende mostrar la evolución del diseño del automóvil, desde los primeros intentos de mecanización en el siglo I a.C., hasta la actualidad y, en ocasiones, hacia el futuro, a través de su exposición permanente y frecuentes exposiciones temporales.
MAP
Acceso
BUILDING
The premises are made up of two buildings:
The first one is a late 19th century building that was originally a tannery and later became the second power station in Salamanca, which gave it the name it has been known as up to now, the “Leccy Factory” (“Fábrica de Luz”). The building has two large spaces that cover an area over 1,000m2. The offices, the archive, the shop and the reception are located in the space on the right. The space on the left has been restored to its original structure, which makes it an exceptional sample of the industrial building techniques of its day. This is a multi-purpose space, a place for conferences, presentations and temporary exhibitions, in accordance with the Museum’s needs.
The second building is new: an aesthetically innovative work by the architect José Elías Díez. It has three large, 1,150m2 rooms where the permanent exhibition is housed.
Durante la construcción del nuevo edificio del museo se encontraron las ruinas de una antigua iglesia. Tras realizar un estudio arqueológico y una investigación histórica se llegó a la conclusión de que los restos pertenecían a la antigua iglesia extramuros de San Nicolás de Bari, construida en el siglo XII y derribada a principios del siglo XIX, que llegó a albergar el primer instituto anatómico forense de España.
