Ronda Museum
The Museum of Ronda is the city museum in the old town of the Andalusian city of Ronda . It is located in the Palacio de Mondragón in the square of the same name. Due to expansions that have taken place over the centuries, it is a very winding complex. The three inner courtyards and the garden with the panoramic view of the valley are worth a visit in themselves. The museum not only exhibits, but is also a research institution. The collections have not yet been completed as the museum is still receiving exhibits from current archaeological excavations.
History and use of the building
The oldest parts of the building date from the Moorish times. After the Spanish conquered the city, the palace served as royal accommodation. Later it was owned by the Counts of Villasierra. One of the Mudejar- style inner courtyards is next to the oldest part of the building from the Moorish era. The Castilian style courtyard represents the 17th century. The courtyard in the entrance area is the youngest of the three courtyards. It dates from the 18th century.
In the 1990s the palace began to be used as a municipal museum. The exhibits at the exhibition show prehistoric finds from the hunter-gatherer societies, the transition to the Neolithic with the first rural settlements in the vicinity of Ronda, as well as finds from the Phoenician, Iberian, Roman and Arab times. Visiting the exhibition is considered a good preparation for a visit to the nearby Pileta Cave ( Cueva de la Pileta ) with its more than 3000 Paleolithic rock carvings, the oldest of which are more than 25,000 years old. A passage dolmen with a round hut reproduces a find situation that was archaeologically researched in Acinipo . Another exhibition room documents the Islamic burial culture.
Web links
- Website (German)