"On the palm-tree quay, he got everything that was due to him."
L. Stevenson. Treasure Island
Military museums in Europe. It's slushy winter outside, I want the sun and the sea. One involuntarily recalls the summer, when all this was in abundance. But summer is not only rest, sea bathing and travel to various interesting places. It is also an acquaintance with these interesting places.
Today we will tell you about one such interesting place: the maritime museum of the Spanish city of Lloret de Mar. The name of this city was mentioned already in 966 AD. e., however, like Loredo, and indeed it is very ancient, since on its territory three Iberian settlements were discovered from pre-Roman times, and then the castle of St. John to defend against pirate raids. It has been reconstructed, and we will definitely tell you about it, but today we will talk about another interesting place in the city - its maritime museum. True, it can only be attributed to a military museum with a stretch, because this is a maritime museum, but there are cannons on the models of ships that are exhibited there, and if so, it still has something to do with naval affairs. In addition, it is very important to know that it is there. Every year, more and more Russian tourists go to Spain, who have already quite well mastered this city with a beautiful palm tree promenade, amazing clean sand, which for some reason does not stick to the skin at all, and … this museum. About which, by the way, they, often even staying in it for a week or more, and already starting to get bored, often do not even know. Rather, they do not notice him on the embankment among the palm trees.
By the way, it is believed that the unusual name of the city comes from the Latin Lauretum - "the place where laurel trees grow." It is believed that the laurel tree is also depicted on the coat of arms of the city. But in reality this is not at all the case: it depicts a berry tree that still grows in the forests around Lloret de Mar.
Well, the Maritime Museum is located right on its embankment, with a magnificent view from its azotea to the sea and its palm alley, which stretches all the way to the city hall. The building in which the museum is located is called Kan Garriga - this is a three-story house of the Indianos family (local residents who emigrated to America and then returned to their homeland), distinguished by great historical and architectural value, and acquired by the mayor's office in 1981. local residents have started a strange custom: to go to work in America, but then be sure to return. Moreover, those who returned with money usually had a feast upon arrival, built themselves a luxurious house and led a happy life as a rentier, but those who were "unlucky" were subjected to general ridicule. But they also came back. That's how …
The museum houses a collection of ship models from the Lloret Yacht Club, which experts believe is simply magnificent, as well as a collection of sailing items, selected so that museum visitors can enjoy the spectacle of beautifully executed models and get to know culture and history of the seaside town of Lloret.
A visit to the house of Kan Garriga is in itself a kind of journey into the past. It begins with memories of Lloret's relationship with the sea, whose origins date back to the distant past. Then this "narration" tells about the trade coastal voyages in the Mediterranean with a cargo of wine, which for some reason was transported from one coastal city to another, as if there was not enough of their own wine (this is in Spain!), And the adventures of sailors from Lloret In the open sea. The history of sailing ships presented in the museum ends with the appearance of steam engines, the loss of overseas colonies by Spain in 1890 and the return of those who once left here. Moreover, some of them returned to their hometown with a large fortune, while others had, as before, to engage in fishing, work in the fields or in the forest. So, walking through the museum, you can get an idea not only of the sea and fishing vessels of Lloret de Mar, but also of its history as one of the typical cities of the Spanish coast.
The building of the house where the museum is located is also described here, and here you can also watch a colorful film about all this. And it is very good that in each of the halls of the museum there is a set of leaflets with text in different languages, including Russian (!), Which tells about the content of its exposition and the history of the city. This is not the case in every major museum in European capitals. And here is a small town, but all the information is available not only in Spanish, English, French and German, but also in Russian. And rightly so, this is how it should be today.
The museum has several sections. After passing the first one, which tells about the history of the city and home, we find ourselves in a hall with a very significant name: "Mare nostrum" ("Our Sea"). And for the inhabitants of Lloret, it really was “ours”. After all, wherever they swam in the Mediterranean! Here you can see the models of merchant ships and the products that were transported on them, as well as those "traces" that these trade relations have left in the history of the city; photographs of his famous historical figures, and most importantly - documents, paintings, engravings, objects.
The third room is called "Gateway to the Ocean". Indeed, seemingly turned towards the Mediterranean, Lloret was indeed such a gate for its inhabitants. They were hired to serve in the Spanish navy and took part in campaigns to distant seas and oceans, took part in sea battles, fought bloodthirsty Algerian pirates.
This part of the exhibition begins with the royal decree of Charles III, by which he allowed the inhabitants of Lloret to build their own ships for trade with America. It tells about shipbuilders and shipowners, various types of long-distance vessels, as well as technical devices and tools that were used for their construction. Having skirted Spain, through the Strait of Gibraltar, the Lloretz went out to the Atlantic and sailed to Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and the United States. They carried barrels of Spanish wine, and brought back cochineal and indigo, cotton and rum, bales of red pepper and coffee. The names and surnames of the families of the sailors from Lloret who made such voyages are carefully preserved to this day.
The room "Lloret after sailboats" is dedicated, of course, to the era of steam. Yes, the time has come when romantic sailing ships ceased to be competitive and the overseas colonies of Spain were lost. Life in Lloret came to a standstill. Now fishermen and farmers lived here. But the inhabitants of the town found a way out of the situation, now at the expense of the surrounding forest. They took up the production of barrels and corks. They, of course, could not foresee the tourist "revolution" that took place here later, with the onset of the 20th century. But they did not sit idly by, but tried to find their niche in the country's economy - and they did!
Well, then, after 1975, tourists from northern, cold countries began to gradually arrive here. But the museum's exposition diligently emphasizes that Lloret is “not only a beach”, but that the city has many cultural attractions. And by the way, it really is. This is the picturesque arboretum "Gardens of Clotilde", and the art gallery, where most of the exposition is occupied by paintings by our Russian artist dedicated to Lloret (!), The tower-castle of St. John and the archaeological parks of the excavations of the ancient settlements of the Iberians. Although they do not make a special impression on non-specialists, what can you do if they lived frankly poorly, although with a beautiful view of the sea. On the whole, this museum makes a very, very pleasant impression. This is the real story of people who never forget that the sea gave them life.
