Olot Saints Museum

Olot Saints Museum is a museum in Olot, a town in the Girona province of Catalonia, dedicated to the craft of making religious figurines — one of the region's most distinctive traditional trades.

What is this museum about?

The museum opened in 2007 and focuses on a fairly specific subject: the art of producing small devotional figures known locally as "saints." Unlike a typical museum of religious art, the collection does not center on the finished devotional objects themselves, but on how they were made — the tools, molds, painting techniques and the wider workshop culture that shaped Olot's craft for generations.

Why did Olot become a hub for this trade?

The story goes back to the 19th century, when the town's first workshops began producing religious figures on an industrial scale for churches and homes across Spain and abroad. A central figure in this history is Marian Vayreda, a painter and writer linked to the Olot art school, who together with his brother Joaquim and with Josep Berga i Boix founded one of the earliest such workshops, known as "Arte Cristiano." That venture became the starting point for a local industry that, over time, employed hundreds of people and exported its output on a large scale.

What will you actually see inside?

The displays include the tools and molds craftsmen used, finished figures in a range of styles and sizes, and material documenting the production process itself — from shaping the clay or plaster, through casting, to the hand-painting of faces and garments. A separate section covers the life and work of Marian Vayreda, presenting him not only as a co-founder of the figurine industry but as a figure of broader importance to Olot's art and culture at the time. The museum also looks beyond religious craft alone, covering other traditional trades and elements of the region's popular culture, which makes a visit worthwhile even for travelers with no particular interest in religious art.

Getting there and when to visit

Olot sits in northeastern Catalonia, in the La Garrotxa region, known for its volcanic landscape and network of nature parks. The town has good road connections to Girona and Barcelona, and the museum itself is located in the town center, making it easy to combine with other sightseeing in Olot. Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00, Saturday 11:00–14:00 and 16:00–19:00, and Sunday 11:00–14:00. It's worth calling +34 972 26 69 71 before visiting to confirm current hours, especially around holidays.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly can you see at the Olot Saints Museum? A collection of tools, molds and finished religious figures produced in local workshops, along with material on the life of Marian Vayreda and the history of Olot's figurine industry.

When was the museum founded? It opened in 2007 to document one of the town's most important craft traditions.

Who was Marian Vayreda? A painter and writer connected to the Olot art school, who co-founded the "Arte Cristiano" workshop with his brother Joaquim and with Josep Berga i Boix, one of the first businesses to mass-produce religious figures in the town.

Is the museum worth visiting if you're not interested in religious themes? Yes — beyond religious craft, it also covers other traditional trades and elements of local popular culture, and the story of this industrial-scale craft production is itself an interesting case of 19th- and 20th-century local entrepreneurship.