Castle of Chapultepec National Museum of History

The National Museum of History, located in the highest spot of the Chapultepec Forest, in the historical Chapultepec Castle. This building was built between 1785 and 1787, designed as a resting home under order of Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez. In time, their uses have been diverse: from being the home of the Military College –the scenario of battles during the Invasion of the U.S.A. to Mexico–, to the imperial residence for Maximilian I of Mexico and Carlota of Mexico, up to the presidential residence.

Since the emission of a decree by president Lázaro Cárdenas, it was dedicated to keep collections and objects from historical figures of the history of Mexico, it also is home to murals by Juan O’Gorman (The Independence Altarpiece, The Porfirian Feudalism, and Effective Suffrage, No Reelection), by José Clemente Orozco (The Reform, and The Fall of the Empire), and by David Alfaro Siqueiros (From Porfirism to Revolution), to name a few. It was inaugurated as a museum in September 27th, 1944.

The areas for exhibition are divided into two sections: the first is occupied by the halls that show the historical period that goes from the Conquest to the Revolution in 1910, this section is placed where the old Military College was located; the second section is in the citadel, where furniture that belonged to the emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlota, and to the general Porfirio Díaz and his wife Carmen Romero Rubio is exhibited. The museum has more than 40 areas that summarize the history of Mexico; it includes paintings and sculptures, clothing, technology, numismatic, musical instruments, silver goods and chattels and ceramic, flags, carriages and documents. It has an auditorium, a hall for temporary exhibitions, a library, a photograph library, a bookstore, and a cafeteria. It offers educational services, guided visits, school counseling, and audio guides.