Museum history

The birth of the ethnological museum

The ethnological Museum of Algar de Palancia was founded with a definite idea: « To recover an object it is to recover a history », our history.
All articles which we see habitually in our houses, those who encircle us, make quickly left the daily and are, without knowing why, sometimes, devoid of any value.
It is for it that in every change of epoch and mode, we of course took habit to get rid of them.
It occurs everywhere, coinciding with a change or a new form of house.
So, all this "knack" finishes in the garbage can.
Knowing that every object is a part of our history, by regrouping them we recover a party{part} of our historical memory. They can so allow to answer questions that they settle on life and usages of our closest forefathers, with objective to remember what it is made of better. It's about time now to begin this trip in crossed thanks to the museum.
During year 2005, the advisor for Culture Mrs Carmen Hernandez Bolinches and Juan de Dios Carrascosa Oltra, acquire from the Town hall, represented D. Juan Arnal Font, a place, to be able to stock various objects.
Over the years, numerous objects were recovered, in anticipation of the building of the future museum. I stacked up all these objects, until the place is full. Thanks to the support of the municipality I acquired a new place as well as a computer, to establish an office and the seat of the future museum. It is here that in begun my trip in time.
During summer 2009, during the Cultural Week, was organized by advisor for Culture Mrs Josefa Company Zorrilla and backed by the Community of House of Commons del Alto Palancia, a memorial exhibition on topic « The importance of the orange in our culture ».
This exhibition was instituted in the room of the Local Auditorium, Joaquín Rodrigo.
And there, this was clack. But why not to organize an exhibition, with objects gathered by and for the museum ? We therefore put on very quickly at work. The first thing to be made was to clean objects for future exhibitions. We asked the " Cooperative society of Algar, " the possibility of using their places provisionally to clean and to restore as many as possible the components of a future exhibition.
This request been quickly accepted with a big desire of their part to participate in plan.
Since September, 2009 and during the first half of 2010, we undertook cleaning and restoration of the components of exhibition as well as its comprehension. Instead of disposing them in shelving we had the idea of recreating, with a maximum of these objects, of stages daily of local life.
And such a waited day came. During the cultural Week of 2010, on July 25th, the First " Exhibition of the ethnological Museum of Algar de Palancia » in the local Auditorium of the city was born.
Ceremony chaired by Mr mayor D. Juan Arnal Font, the advisor for Culture Mrs Josefa Company Zorrilla and introduced by the president, as volunteer of the Museum of ethnology of Algar de Palencia, Juan de Dios Carrascosa Oltra, with his wife and collaborator, Mrs Carmen Hernandez Bolinches, and to whom were invited the rest of the local corporation and the neighbours and friends of the village of Algar.
Permanent exhibition and which they can even use today.
The philosophy of the museum is to consider nothing to be its ownership. All objects are given up with the agreement of the owner, until this one or his heirs want to recover it.
As a result, for sure this museum is founded on the collaboration of all.
That's why we thank warmly your support and your collaboration so that the " Museum of ethnology of Palencia Algar, " remains a reality. Your reality. Thanks a lot in all.

Juan de Dios Carrascosa Oltra