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Museum of Rural Life

L’Espluga de Francolí

The three buildings that make up the Museum of Rural Life in Espluga de Francolí

The three buildings that make up the Museum of Rural Life in Espluga de Francolí

The Museum of Rural Life was founded in 1988 to preserve and disseminate knowledge of the rural world. The importance of farmers and complementary rural occupations, as well as the culture, art and customs of traditional life are brought together in a discourse that emphasises values such as hard work, patience and saving. Visitors can see all this throughout the centuries up to the present day and even into the immediate future, as well as the major changes that have taken place in the countryside over the past 100 years.

In 2009 the MRL was extended and its exhibitions were renewed. Thanks to the latest audiovisual technology our rural past can now be seen in a more dynamic and educational manner.

The MRL is a benchmark cultural centre with a weekly programme of cultural activities, as well as temporary exhibitions. The museum has a website dedicated to education where its educational programme can be consulted.

AUDIOGUIDE

Listen to the audio guide of this museum

All audios available

SIGNGUIDE

Watch the signguide of this museum

All videos available

SPACES

<p>A close-up from the Prologue Hall, the auditorium at the Museum of Rural Life (MVR) where the visit begins.</p>

Prologue Hall

Prologue Hall

<p>The Traité Hall displays a unique collection of rural ethnography, with a total of 84 sculpture.</p>

Traité Rural Ethnography Collection

Traité Rural Ethnography Collection

<p>The Museum of Rural Life has a unique collection of miniature scenes.</p>

Miniature Scenes

Miniature Scenes

<p>The collection with carts includes the tractor as a display of the evolution of machinery in the rural world.</p>

Hall of Carts

Hall of Carts

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<p>The museum’s ecological garden, with the waterwheel and sink in the background of the picture.</p>

The Ecological Garden

The Ecological Garden

<p>Scenic view of the hall devoted to the three main crops in the country: grapevines, wheat and olive trees.</p>

Agriculture

Agriculture

<p>The fourth storey of the old MVR building shows the traditional conservation methods.</p>

The destination of the harvests

The destination of the harvests

<p>One of the scenes in the museum: the farmhouse kitche.</p>

The Farmhouse Hearth

The Farmhouse Hearth

<p>Glass cabinet devoted to the wood chopper’s trade.</p>

The Complementary Trades

The Complementary Trades

<p>These glass cabinets use a light change to show a period photograph on the outside and tools on the inside.</p>

La vida al poble

La vida al poble

<p>View of the fourth floor of the new building, with a collection of wild mushrooms in the foreground.</p>

The Site

The Site

<p>Mechanisation Hall.</p>

A Pathway to the Present

A Pathway to the Present

<p>The hall where the visit to the MVR is full of reflections as we look to the future.</p>

Resources of the Present to Look Toward the Future

Resources of the Present to Look Toward the Future

<p>Entrance to the museum.</p>

The Seed

The Seed

OBJECTS

<p><em>Swing Slaughter</em>, Josep Traité, 1987, terracotta sculpture, 61 × 38 × 30.5 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Swine slaughter

Swine slaughter

<p><em>Going to Midnight Mass Late</em>, Josep Traité, 1990, terracotta sculpture , 34.5 × 21.5 × 27 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Going to Midnight Mass

Going to Midnight Mass

<p>This diorama shows the Christmas <em>tió </em>nativity scene built by Sergi Massó from the Barcelona Miniature Scene Association. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

The Christmas tió

The Christmas tió

<p>Funeral cart from Santa Coloma de Queralt (La Conca de Barberà). Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Funeral cart

Funeral cart

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<p><em>Carro de torn</em>, second half of the 19th century, 360 × 192 × 167 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Carro de torn

Carro de torn

<p>Tipcart. Second half of the 19th century. Size: 480 x 173 x 175 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Tipcart

Tipcart

<p>Hanomag Barreiros R 335 tractor. Early 1960s. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Hanomag Barreiros R 335 tracto

Hanomag Barreiros R 335 tractor

<p>Waterwheel, 19th century, Palma. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Waterwheel

Waterwheel

<p>The ecological garden of the Museum of Rural Life, built in 2014. Museo de la Vida Rural.</p>

The garden

The garden

<p>A <em>trull</em> or olive oil press. First half of the 19th century. Size: 335 x 272 cm. Millstone: 3,200 kg (approx.). Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

A trull or olive oil press

A trull or olive oil press

<p>Threshing roller. First half of the 19th century. Size: 130 x 95 x 107 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Threshing roller

Threshing roller

<p>Mural depicting the different stages in the traditional cultivation of wheat, Llucià Navarro, 1984. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Wheat mural

Wheat mural

<p>Wine presses in the old farmhouse of the Carulla family. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Wine presses

Wine presses

<p>Close-up of a pantry where you can see different ways that food was conserve. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Pantry

Pantry

<p>Birthing chair. Size: 104.5 x 74 x 52 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Birthing chair

Birthing chair

<p>Copper hot chocolate maker placed on the hearth in a kitchen. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Hot chocolate maker

Hot chocolate maker

<p>Blacksmith’s anvil. Size: 62 x 20 x 30 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Blacksmith’s anvil

Blacksmith’s anvil

<p>Jack plane, 1789. Artistically worked with an attractive legend. Size: 8.5 x 79 x 6 cm. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Jack plane

Jack plane

<p>Jar from the Carulla apothecary in L’Espluga de Francolí, with hand-painted decorations. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Apothecary jar

Apothecary jar

<p>Wafer receptacle with a roulette wheel. They were usually inscribed with the owner’s name, in this case the wafer-maker Gerardo Fernández. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Wafer-maker

Wafer-maker

<p>Scale model of La Conca de Barberà, an inland county in Catalonia. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

La Conca de Barberà

La Conca de Barberà

<p>The museum’s herbarium, with more than 80 classified species from La Conca de Barberà. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

The Herbarium

The Herbarium

<p>Machine built in the J. Trepat factory in Tàrrega (Urgell). Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Trepat reaping machine

Trepat reaping machine

<p>A Campeón Type C2 water pump. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

A Campeón water pump

A Campeón water pump

<p>Pitchforks hung in an eminently artistic installation at the end of the visit to the MVR. Museum of Rural Life.</p>

<p> </p>

Pitchforks

Pitchforks

INFORMATION

ADDRESS

Carretera de Montblanc, 35
43440 L’Espluga de Francolí (Conca de Barberà)

FEES

General admission: €6.00.

Reduced rate: €4.50 (pensioners and holders of a youth hostel card, student’s card, youth card, RACC card or cultural card of the Cistercian Route).

Free admission: up to 18 years of age, holders of a Club Súper 3 card, teachers, disabled and unemployed persons and members of the ICOM.

Group rate: €4.50 per person; €4.00 per person for elderly groups.

Educational workshop rate: €3.90 per student.

TELEPHONE

+34 977 870 576

WEBSITE

http://www.museuvidarural.cat

OPENING TIMES

Tuesday to Saturday:
10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Sundays and holidays:
10.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.

Mondays: By prior appointment only.

Special days
7, 9 and 30 April; 4, 5 and 24 June; 28 July; 10 September; 12 October; 6 and 8 December: from 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.

5 January, 24 and 31 December: from 10.30 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.

Closed
non-bank holiday Mondays; 1 and 6 January; 31 July; 25 and 26 December

GETTING HERE

EMAIL

info@museuvidarural.cat

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