STM, Museum on Basque Society

The San Telmo Museum, inaugurated in 1902, is the oldest in the Basque Country; today it is reintroducing itself and its new objectives. Working from the basis of its funds, almost totally related to Basque society, San Telmo has been renovated to become a Museum of Basque Society and Citizenship.

The object of reflection that San Telmo presents is the cultural and historical past as a seed for today's society, from a multi-disciplinary view, open to modern dialogue and debate. The museum constitutes the memory for future generations and it is responsible for safeguarding and making citizens aware of the wealth of heritage that it holds so that everyone can enjoy and make use of it. San Telmo assumes the responsibility of preserving, completing and increasing collections representing the history and evolution of Basque society.

San Telmo is presented as a museum and, at the same time, a place to both disseminate knowledge and create thought whilst aiming to be an instrument to understand the present and build the future from knowledge of the past.

The museum currently has over 55,500 pieces divided into several different categories: Ethnography, Fine Arts, Photography, Archaeology and History.

It should be highlighted that the San Telmo Museum is the only museum in the surrounding area dedicated to Basque society from the perspective of a society museum and, at the same time, it is the only museum in the city with a Fine Art area.