Museum of Guadalajara

The Museum of Guadalajara has a long and eventful history that extends from 1838 to the present. It is the oldest provincial museum in Spain and has known several changes of headquarters and the dispersion and loss of much of its funds, initially the most valuable artistic assets of the religious buildings suppressed with the Disentailment of Mendizabal.

On November 19, 1838 the museum was opened to the public in the palace of Antonio de Mendoza, sharing space with the provincial prison until 1861, when it was closed and dismantled.

In 1873 it was reopened in a new location, the palace of the Infantado, where it remained until 1898, when it was moved to the convent of the Conception, in the Plaza de Moreno, from where it left when its roof collapsed in 1899. The collections were then stored in the palace of the Diputación de Guadalajara until 1972. In that year the forgotten works of the museum were "rediscovered", their importance was recognized and they were sent by the Spanish Ministry of Culture to the Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Works in Madrid. Once restored, they were used to create the new Museum of Guadalajara, located in the Infantado Palace.

In 1984 the management of the museum was transferred to the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, although the ownership remained with the Ministry of Culture.

The location of the museum in the Infantado Palace in 1973 and the custody of all the objects from archaeological works since 1985, mark the current operation of the museum.