Museo Aguilar y Eslava

Museo Aguilar y Eslava is a small but content-rich museum in Cabra, a town in the province of Córdoba on the edge of the Sierra Subbética. It occupies part of the former Real Colegio de la Purísima, home for over 300 years to one of the oldest secondary schools in Andalusia — today's IES Aguilar y Eslava. The museum is run by the Fundación Aguilar y Eslava and its collections grew out of items the school itself gathered over generations.

What should you know before visiting?

The museum joined the Junta de Andalucía's museum network in 2002, and after the building was renovated it reopened to the public in its current form in 2007. So while the building itself has centuries of history, the exhibition layout is fairly recent and organized into a handful of themed rooms.

How do you get there, and where exactly is it?

The address is Plaza de Aguilar y Eslava, 14940 Cabra (Córdoba). The museum sits right in the town centre, inside the historic school building, so it's easy to combine a visit with a walk through Cabra's old quarter.

What is inside?

The natural history room — why did a school keep its own science cabinet?

One of the more interesting sections comes from the institute's old natural history cabinet. It holds fossils, taxidermied animals, models, and 19th-century physics and chemistry instruments, alongside material covering botany, zoology, mineralogy, petrology and geology. It's a window into how science subjects were taught in an Andalusian school of earlier centuries.

The painting room — whose portraits hang on the walls?

The room devoted to paintings is among the most visited. It displays portraits of notable figures who studied at the Instituto Aguilar y Eslava, along with canvases connected to the cult of the Immaculate Conception (Purísima Concepción), a nod to the building's original role as a religious college. Most paintings and sculptures entered the collection as donations made to the institution over the years.

The library holdings — what does the institute's book collection contain?

The museum also holds a substantial bibliographic collection: more than five thousand volumes printed between the 16th and 19th centuries. It's the kind of accumulated library typical of an old educational institution, built up by successive generations of teachers and students who added scientific and religious texts.

Temporary exhibitions — what changes?

Beyond the permanent displays, the museum runs temporary exhibitions on subjects such as local religious brotherhoods (hermandades), historical documents, or figures connected to the region, so no two visits are quite the same.

When is it open?

Opening hours are limited, so it's worth planning ahead: Thursday and Friday from 18:00 to 20:00, Saturday from 11:00 to 14:00 and again from 18:00 to 20:00, and Sunday from 11:00 to 14:00. On public holidays the museum tends to open only in the morning. For bookings or to confirm hours, call 957 520 857.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Museo Aguilar y Eslava? It's a natural history, art and heritage museum housed in a centuries-old school building in Cabra, run by the Fundación Aguilar y Eslava, with collections spanning natural sciences, painting and antique books.

Where exactly is it located? In the centre of Cabra, on Plaza de Aguilar y Eslava, inside the former Real Colegio de la Purísima, now home to the IES Aguilar y Eslava school.

When can you visit? Thursday and Friday evenings (18:00–20:00), Saturdays in two slots (11:00–14:00 and 18:00–20:00), and Sunday mornings (11:00–14:00); on holidays usually morning only.

What's the collection's biggest draw? The painting room, with portraits of notable alumni, and the natural history cabinet, with its fossils and taxidermied animals, are the most frequently mentioned highlights.