Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Coimbra > Montemor-o-Velho > Carapinheira
The Countryside Museum is located in the village of Carapinheira, part of the municipality of Montemor-o-Velho. This region, known as Baixo Mondego, is characterized by its landscape of fertile fields, shaped by the presence of the river. The museum is situated within a village environment that maintains strong ties to rural traditions and a life connected to the land and the river.
Its location in Carapinheira reflects the central theme of the museum, providing an immersion into the reality of the communities that historically inhabited and worked these fields.
Inaugurated in 1992, The Countryside Museum was born from the initiative of LACAM, League of Friends of the Mondego Fields, with the purpose of safeguarding and valuing the cultural memory of the region. It is an essentially ethnographic museum unit, dedicated to preserving the experiences and artisan crafts that shaped the lives of local communities until the mid-20th century, before the widespread adoption of mechanization.
The museum offers a window into the past, allowing visitors to understand what daily life and work were like in the Mondego fields, through a careful look at the traditions, customs, and tools of the era.
The museum's collection is substantial, featuring over twelve hundred pieces, some of which were donated by private individuals, documenting the rural life of the region. The ethnographic collection covers a wide range of facets: from techniques of land preparation, cultivation, and harvesting in agriculture, to river fishing. Also represented are the processes of food preparation, spinning, and old means of transport.
A significant space is dedicated to traditional trades, such as the shoemaker, carpenter, cooper, stonemason, and blacksmith, showcasing their tools and techniques. The exhibition also includes examples of work, festive, and traditional clothing, everyday use utensils, lighting systems, toys, and objects of a religious nature, as well as the process of wine and olive oil production.
In addition to its rich ethnographic collection, The Countryside Museum houses other collections that broaden knowledge about the Baixo Mondego region. It is possible to discover archaeological finds, such as fragments of Bell Beaker pottery, which reveal traces of very ancient human presence in the area.
The museum also exhibits local sacred art, presenting religious images characteristic of the area. Art lovers can appreciate a collection of paintings by regional artists, whose works are inspired by the Mondego fields. Complementing the collection is a collection of approximately 250 ancient coins and historical maps of Baixo Mondego, some dating back to the 18th century. There is also a documentary set that includes old newspaper clippings reflecting life in Carapinheira, period photographs, and posters of local festivities spanning a century of history.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 40.2098956,-8.6526218
Coordinates DMS: 40°12'35.6"N 08°39'9.4"W
Weather Carapinheira
On-duty Pharmacy Carapinheira
