The Museum of the Army (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Museo del Ejército'') is a military museum in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, Spain, devoted to the history of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

. It is one of the National Museums of Spain and it is attached to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. The collection was previously housed in Madrid, and the museum opened on its present site in 2010. It occupies two linked buildings, Toledo's historic

Alcázar An ''alcázar'', from Arabic ''al-Qasr'', is a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain built during Al-Andalus, Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries. They functioned as homes and regional capitals for governmental figures throughout ...

(castle) and a purpose-built extension.

History

The history of the museum began in 1803 when the royal military museum was established in a building in Madrid known as the Palacio de Monteleón. The building also served as a barracks for artillery units and it was attacked and looted by the French when they suppressed the

Dos de Mayo Uprising The ''Dos de Mayo'' or Second of May Uprising took place in Madrid, Spain, on 2–3 May 1808. The rebellion, mainly by civilians, with some isolated military action by junior officers, was against the occupation of the city by French troops, ...

of 1808. The museum was reestablished, but in 1827 it was divided into two sections: the Museo de Artillería and the Museo de Ingenieros. Later the collections were unified and housed in the

Hall of Realms The ''Salón de Reinos'' (translated as "Hall of the Kingdoms" or "Hall of Realms") or ''salón grande'' ("great hall") is a 17th-century building in Madrid, originally a wing of the Buen Retiro Palace. The Salón de Reinos and the Casón del ...

. In the twenty-first century the collections were moved from Madrid to Toledo. The new premises offered much more space, although the site was not without controversy because of its associations with the

Siege of the Alcázar The siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favour of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of t ...

, an episode in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, when the castle was held by

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

forces. In the aftermath of the war, the ruins of the building became a propagandistic memorial to the Francoist victory. Yet still, the choice of content and the museographic treatment proved to be even more controversial. The new museum was opened in 2010 by

Felipe, Prince of Asturias Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed F ...

The Alcázar

The Alcázar is used for the Permanent Exhibition. Some rooms are devoted to chronological displays reflecting the history of Spain twinned with that of its Army, other rooms show the collections thematically.

The new building

The new building houses the administrative offices, the Temporary Exhibitions room, the Army room in the present time, the didactic classroom, the auditorium, the archive, the library, the coffee shop, the restoration workshops and the warehouses, all of them endowed with the greatest technical advances for the conservation, restoration, cataloging, investigation and diffusion of the funds that are guarded.

Archaeology

Some items are

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. The displays include finds from excavations at the Alcázar which were undertaken prior to construction of the museum extension.

Display cases and individual items

Some of the display cases belonging to the museum are of interest in their own right with decorative details reflecting their contents. The museum contains many miniature replicas of battles. The displays on the 20th century include a 1930s

Enigma machine The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the W ...

in its original box. The Spanish have preserved a number of Enigma machines, modified versions of the commercial machine, which were obtained by Franco from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. In 1937, the British cryptographer

Dilly Knox Alfred Dillwyn "Dilly" Knox, CMG (23 July 1884 – 27 February 1943) was an English classics scholar and papyrologist at King's College, Cambridge and a codebreaker. As a member of the Room 40 codebreaking unit he helped decrypt the Zimme ...

broke Franco's Enigma, but knowledge of this breakthrough was not shared with the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Two of the Spanish Enigma machines have been presented to British institutions in return for Enigma-related material.

Gallery

File:Cañón de bronce Plasencia de 9 cm Modelo 1878.JPG, Bronze cannon Plasencia of 9 cm Model 1878 Krupp. Manufactured in the Royal Artillery Factory of Seville File:XVIth century armours, Medinaceli Collection, Museo del Ejército, Toledo 02.JPG, 16th-century armours, Medinaceli Collection File:Bandera de D. Ramón Cabrera.jpg, Flag of Ramón Cabrera File:Costume of a cavalery soldier of the Trozo de Milan (copy), Museo del Ejército, Toledo.JPG, Costume of a cavalryman of the ''Trozo de Milan'' File:Japanese armor dó-maru, Edo perdio, Museo del Ejército, Toledo.JPG, Japanese armor, end-Edo period (1603–1868) File:Armour of the Duke of Alcala, Museo del Ejército, Toledo, close view from below.JPG, Armor of the Duke of Alcalá File:Sword of Boabdil.jpg, The personal sword, sultan clothing and shoes worn by Muhammad XII (last emir of Granada) during the

battle of Lucena The Battle of Lucena, also called Battle of Martín González, was a war event in which Christian forces of the Crown of Castile were faced against the Muslim forces of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada. It took place in the month of April of the y ...

File:Museo_del_Ejército,_Toledo_029.jpg,

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Archaeological museums in Spain Military and war museums in Spain Museums in Toledo, Spain 2010 establishments in Spain Armour collections Enigma machine