Museo Naval de Cartagena

Museo Naval de Cartagena occupies the southern half of the ground floor in a historic building in Cartagena, Spain. Mateo Vodopich designed the building, which was completed in 1786. The former Cuartel de Presidiarios y Esclavos later served as a state penitentiary in 1824, a presidio in 1910, and a naval training barracks after the Spanish Civil War. Since 2005, the building has shared its space with the Polytechnic University of Cartagena.

The collections follow Spanish naval history through shipbuilding, nautical science, artillery, mine warfare, naval health, uniforms, flags, music, painting, submarines, and diving. Cartagena’s maritime heritage appears alongside objects connected with the former Mediterranean Maritime Department. Isaac Peral’s legacy forms a central thread, supported by his navigation flag, personal items, and documents connected with his electric torpedo submarine. The submarine used a steel fusiform hull, electric propulsion, internal lighting, oxygen systems, and a reloadable tube for three torpedoes.

A scale model of the eighteenth-century ship Septentrión offers a compact view of naval design. Another striking group contains riverine carpentry tools used to build wooden hulls during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Together, these objects connect technical invention with the practical work of shipyards and the daily life of crews at sea.