Cantabria Prehistory and Archaeology Museum conserves all the artefacts and remains recovered by archaeological excavations in the region. It therefore has collections of stone and bone objects from all the decorated caves, such as La Garma, Altamira, El Castillo and El Pendo.
The Museum was founded in the early twentieth century with the material collected mainly by J. Carballo. It was initially located in Sobrellano Palace in Comillas, and officially opened by King Alfonso XIII in 1926. Its collections have increased each year with the artefacts of all ages recovered by archaeological excavations in Cantabria. However, the specialisation of regional archaeology in Palaeolithic sites has led to this period of prehistory being represented by a large sample of objects.
The museum is divided into two parts: Prehistory and History. The first part is given the largest exhibition space. It can be visited from different viewpoints: on one hand, the evolution in stone tools and therefore material culture and technical process can be appreciated, while on the other, a selection of the main collections from caves in the region, and the periods each one represents, can be studied. The greatest importance is given to the Palaeolithic, but other prehistoric periods and ancient History, particularly the Roman Age and the Middle Ages, are also exhibited.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.