The Archaeological Museum of Banyoles faces the final stretch of the remodeling works and the mayor, Miquel Noguer, has announced that he plans to open it to the public in mid-2024. The initial forecasts were to finish the works in the second half of last year, but the discovery of a new wall lock and the lack of supplies have delayed the works.
At the moment, the works have been completed in the old part, where the Gothic building of the Pia Almoina has been restored. Now, the project focuses on the new part of the museum, the new module is being built that will become the new entrance to the facility. There will also be warehouse space, an auditorium and educational spaces.
Two years ago the Banyoles Archaeological Museum closed its doors to begin the comprehensive renovation process. At that time, a deadline was established to complete the works that would end in the first half of 2023.
At that time the war between Russia and Ukraine had not yet broken out. The armed conflict brought significant problems in the supply of raw materials in the construction sector. The first delay came as soon as the works began, when the company already anticipated that the supplies would not arrive on time and that would imply a delay.
Restoring a Gothic building also implies that unforeseen events such as architectural discoveries may occur. The workers found a new medieval wall lock that they analyzed and studied. An important discovery for the history of the city that led to the halting of the works, once again.
This set of delays made the council give up on seeing the museum completed in 2023 and they planned to reopen it in 2024. Now, the mayor of Banyoles, Miquel Noguer, has announced that the restoration of the entire Gothic building has already finished and only Construction of the adjacent building is pending. This is a space that will become the new main entrance to the museum and will house the reception, as well as educational spaces, an auditorium and internal warehouses.
Once these works are completed, the new musealization project must be deployed, which has been completely renovated based on the new spaces of the building. However, the mayor of Banyoles is confident that “within half a year” the facility will open its doors.
