The Bilbao Basque Museum has been working
for over a century on the conservation
and dissemination of the historical and
cultural heritage of Basque society.
The Bilbao Basque Museum got its start at the beginning of the 20th century, an era marked by social interest in history, tradition, and heritage protection. The Bizkaia Monuments Commission, reorganised in 1908, promoted the cataloguing and inventorying of historical and artistic assets with the aim of creating an Archaeological Museum that would gather and preserve these objects.
In 1917, the Provincial Council agreed to create an Ethnographic Museum intended to house objects linked to the identity and characteristics of the Basque people. Both projects were installed in the cloister of the former Colegio de San Andrés (“San Andrés College”) and were inaugurated in 1921. In 1923 they merged into a single institution, supported by the Provincial Council and the Town Hall and with a joint board of trustees that established the basis of the current Museum.
Since its early years, the Museum has undertaken the intense work of organising collections and scientific consolidation, establishing ties with outstanding national and international researchers. The Civil War brought an interruption to this work, affecting both the people linked to the institution and its collections.
From the second half of the 20th century onwards, the Museum expanded its headquarters, reorganised its exhibitions, and redefined its objectives. The introduction of bilingualism, internal restructuring, and the specialisation of its collections marked new stages of growth.
In the 21st century, the approval of a new Museological Plan in 2009 and the comprehensive refurbishment process initiated in 2017 have enabled the renewal of the Museum’s project, consolidating it as a leading centre for Basque culture.
The Bilbao Basque Museum has the mission of collecting, preserving, documenting, researching, disseminating, and exhibiting the material and immaterial elements that explain the historical and cultural evolution of Basque society, thus promoting knowledge, reflection, and enjoyment of our heritage and guaranteeing its passing on to present and future generations.
Since its founding in 1923, the Museum has been under the control of a board of trustees composed of members from the two institutions that support it: the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao Town Hall. In 2014, there was a change in the legal structure of the institution, which became dependent on Bilbao Bizkaia Museoak S.L., an entity made up of the Basque Museum and the Museum of Reproductions, but also jointly owned by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao Town Hall.
The Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Bilbao Town Hall alternate every two years as the President of the Board of Directors governing Bilbao Bizkaia Museoak S.L.
