Col·lecció 'Gabinet Salvador'

In December 2014 the Salvador Collection, housed at the Barcelona Botanical Institute, a mixed centre of the CSIC and the Barcelona City Council, was declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest by the Generalitat de Catalunya.The Salvador collection is the main core of the Gabinet Salvador, which is preserved in the building of the Barcelona Botanical Institute, on Montjuïc. It was bought by the Barcelona City Council and deposited at the Barcelona Botanical Institute in 1945, and another part in 2013. The contents of the cabinet have come down to our days very complete, thanks to the effort of generations of the Salvador family, of generations of botanists at the Barcelona Botanical Institute and of authorities of the Barcelona City Council from different eras. All of them have allowed this unique Cabinet of Curiosities to be preserved today.The Salvadors were a dynasty of Barcelona apothecaries and naturalists who, from the early 17th century to the mid 19th century, gathered a library and very important scientific collections. At least since the mid 18th century, they opened this heritage to scholars. This was the first "museum" open to the public in Barcelona. Today the antique wooden furniture with polychromy, a collection of books and documents, and a collection of natural sciences are preserved in good condition.