Cartagena Naval Museum (Museo Naval de Cartagena)

The Museo Naval de Cartagena, operated by the Spanish Navy (Armada Española) in central Cartagena, documents the naval history of the city spanning more than two millennia from Roman Carthago Nova to the 20th century. Cartagena has been one of the foremost naval bases of the Iberian Peninsula throughout recorded history: the port served as the principal Roman Mediterranean fleet station in Hispania, the main Moorish naval base during the early medieval period, and from the 16th century onward was the home base of the Spanish Navy's Mediterranean Squadron. The museum is housed in a building adjacent to the Arsenal de Cartagena — the great naval base established by Philip II in the 16th century and comprehensively rebuilt by Philip V in the early 18th century as one of the most important naval arsenals in Europe — and chronicles the city's successive naval roles through a substantial permanent collection. Exhibits include detailed ship models (among them a finely crafted model of the Real, the flagship of Don John of Austria at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571), navigational instruments from various periods, figureheads from wooden ships of the line, naval uniforms and insignia, artillery pieces, historical charts, and campaign documentation. A dedicated section covers the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), when Cartagena functioned as the principal Republican naval base and witnessed significant fleet engagements before the base was transferred to the Nationalist side in 1939 — a period of acute historical interest covered in depth with archival photography and documents. Entry to the museum is free. A visit typically takes 1 to 1.5 hours; temporary exhibitions supplement the permanent collection throughout the year.