National Historical Museum

Defensa 1600
Tel. 4307-4457 / 4307-1182
Open Tuesdays through Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Does not close on holidays

This Museum was founded on May 24, 1889, for the purpose of evoking the traditions of the period comprising the May Revolution and the Wars of Independence. It occupies a large old house, that has recently undergone a complete restoration, and is one of the most genuine specimens of stately architecture that have been preserved from mid 19th century. It is located in Lezama Square, on the site where Pedro de Mendoza is said to have founded Buenos Aires for the first time in 1536.
The Museum houses the most important collection of paintings and objects belonging to General San Martín. Worthy of mentioning are his bedroom furniture from his house in Boulogne Sur Mer France, his uniform of Protector of Peru, and the condecorations he received during his campaign. Amongst the paintings exhibited, the most noteworthy is "The embrace at Maipú" by Pedro Subercasseaux. There is also an important collection of items related to Manuel Belgrano and Juan Manuel de Rosas. Amongst the former´s possessions, there is a shield known as the "Shield of Potosí", a wonderful piece of silverwork that the ladies from Potosí offered him as a gift in 1813. There is also a large oil painting of Rosas made by Fernando García del Molino.
Also on exhibition is an important collection of Spanish flags obtained during the wars of independence; a valuable collection of 19th century uniforms; a collection of furniture of the 17th to 19th centuries, amongst which there is a notable piece of furniture in Luso-Brazilian style; medals, condecorations, weapons with blades and firearms dating back to the period comprised between the 16th and 19th centuries.