Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
Refugio-Museo de la Guerra Civil, Cartagena
Air-raid shelter
The story
Cartagena was the Republic's main naval base and home of its fleet, which made it one of the most heavily bombed cities of the war. After a four-hour raid by the Condor Legion on 25 November 1936, the city began tunnelling shelters into its hills. This gallery, cut into the Cerro de la Concepción, was designed for more than 5,000 people and was still unfinished when Cartagena fell on 31 March 1939. Estimates of the number of raids the city suffered vary widely, from about 40 to 117. Opened as a museum in 2004, it covers daily life under the bombs, passive and active air defence (DECA), and the damage to the city. It is the best introduction to the war in the south-east.
What you can see today
A long tunnel in the hillside with exhibition rooms, photographs, air-raid sirens and audiovisuals; a panoramic lift beside it rises 45 m to the Castillo de la Concepción.
Plan your visit
Run by Cartagena Puerto de Culturas; entry is paid, and a combined ticket with other city museums is available. Entrance is on Calle Gisbert, in the centre, a 10-minute walk from the port.
- Open
- 1 Jul–15 Sep daily 10:00–20:00; 16 Sep–1 Nov & 15 Mar–30 Jun Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00; 2 Nov–14 Mar Tue–Sun 10:00–17:30
- Price
- €4 adults; €3 reduced; under-3s free
- Access
- Lift and adapted toilets
- Notice
- Closed 1 & 6 Jan and 25 Dec; afternoons only on 5 Jan, 24 & 31 Dec
Checked September 2026 from official sources: puertodeculturas.cartagena.es. Things change, so check before you travel.
Sources
- mapcarta.com/W226000065
- es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo-Refugio_de_la_Guerra_Civil
- monumentalnet.org/monumento.php?r=MU-CAS-139&seo=museo-refugio-de-la-guerra-civil
- puertodeculturas.cartagena.es/ficha_refugios.asp
Nearby sites
- Batería de Castillitos, Cabo Tiñoso (Cartagena) · 14 km
- Albatera concentration camp memorial, San Isidro · 64 km
- Refugio de la Plaza Séneca, Alicante · 93 km
- Port of Alicante – Stanbrook and the last refugees · 94 km
- Mercado Central, Alicante (bombing of 25 May 1938) · 94 km
- Campo de Los Almendros memorial, Alicante · 95 km
All 158 sites in Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 →
The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The battlefields, trenches, ruined villages, shelters, museums and memorials of the Spanish Civil War across the whole of Spain, told fairly from both sides.
Open the guide