Altamira Palace and Archaeological Museum (MAHE)

What it is

The Altamira Palace is the castle-palace of the lords of the town, beside the Municipal Park; over the centuries it was also a textile factory and a prison. Inside is the Elche Archaeological and History Museum, the MAHE, which takes you through the city from the Iberians of La Alcudia to the present day. General admission costs €3 and Sunday is free. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 15:00. It is the best option if it rains.

History of the building

It is also called the Alcázar de la Señoría. It was the residence of the lords of Elche between the 15th and 19th centuries, and its keep housed James II, Peter IV and the Catholic Monarchs when they passed through the town. Three phases can be read in the building: the Islamic one, from the 11th to the 13th centuries, of which stretches of wall, a monumental gate and the ground floor of the tower remain; the great reform of the 15th and 16th centuries, after Gutierre de Cárdenas took possession of the lordship, which gave it its look of a Gothic manorial castle, and the two-storey Baroque house that the Count of Altamira added to the south façade in the 18th century.

Its rooms in the west wing were a prison, intermittently, from the 18th century until 1959. In 1915 an industrialist built a textile factory in the parade ground, which operated until the late 1960s. The City Council expropriated it and restored it in the 1970s for the former municipal archaeological museum.

The museum

The 2005 refurbishment brought to light remains of the original fortress, among them a high gate towards the river slope whose existence was not known. The palace was then integrated into the MAHE, opened in 2006 with the temporary return of the Lady of Elche. On the ground floor of the keep an exact copy of the Iberian bust, lent by the MARQ, is now on display. The parade ground sometimes hosts cultural events.

Opening times and address

It is at Calle Diagonal del Palau, 7, next to the Municipal Park. The Visitelche sheet gives opening Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00, while the municipal winter timetable says Tuesday to Saturday: if you go on a Monday, confirm beforehand on 966 658 203. It is closed on 25 December and 1 January.