Museum of Visigothic Culture

The Museo de los Concilios y la Cultura Visigoda occupies the beautiful Mudéjar church of San Román, one of Toledo's finest medieval buildings. The museum traces the history of the Visigoths — the Germanic people who ruled Iberia between the fall of Rome and the Arab conquest — through stone carvings, decorative bronzes, jewelry, manuscripts, and architectural fragments.

Toledo was the Visigothic capital, and the city holds more Visigothic remains than anywhere else in Spain. The museum is compact but well-curated, and the building itself is part of the exhibit: the Romanesque arches, the faded Byzantine-influenced frescoes on the walls, and the slender Mudéjar minaret-tower (later adapted for Christian use) make San Román one of the most layered buildings in the city.

This museum is often overlooked in favour of the Cathedral and the Alcázar, which makes it a good choice if you want to understand Toledo's history with fewer crowds. It is free to enter on Sundays.

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A story
Toledo was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania from the mid-6th century until the Arab conquest of 711. The Visigoths held 18 church councils here — essentially the legislative assemblies of the early medieval Iberian peninsula. The church of San Román, which now houses this museum, was built on a site the Visigoths used, and its Mudéjar tower is one of the most photogenic in the old city.

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