museum of the history of san german

The museum opened just before we arrived and it was great to see all of the history of the island. The curator explained all that we looked at and that was the start of our day in the amazing old town. THE must see town in Puerto Rico!

This newly-opened, wonderful hidden gem provided our group with one of the most memorable stops we have ever had. We frequently travel to PR -- generally twice a year for 2 weeks at a time -- exploring the island for all its wonders. MHISA (The History Museum of San Germán) was the absolute surprise of the decade for us. It is a MUST SEE and the town of San Germán has the charm of a village nestled on a river in Europe.The 3,500 sq. ft. museum presents major aspects of life in San Germán, from indigenous Taíno artifacts to other historical items, including a priceless wooden figure of San Juan Nepomuceno (c. 1800) by Felipe Espada, the painting Gíbaro de la Isla de Puerto Rico by Luis Paret, and rare santos, prints, paintings, and extremely rare coins and printed money. There is a wonderful exhibit of some of the furniture handmade by Don Facundo Pacheco of Cabo Rojo -- the island's pre-eminent furniture maker. Early newspapers are on display along with an antique printing press, a display of the different rums produced in the area, and music and sports memorabilia. A short film is presented (in English and in Spanish) in the theater area and an extensive collection of books related to San Germán is available for researchers. Most importantly, the museum chronicles the enormous importance that this stunningly charming town played in the settlement and development of the western half of the island. Hugely insightful and wonderfully laid out, it is easily one of our fave discoveries in all of our travels.San Germán was the place of the earliest colonial settlements of Puerto Rico. (Settlers established land claims in the region where the modern-day town of Añasco is located.) The settlement moved to its present site in the Santa María hills in 1573, where it had better protection from attacks by sea. The town was named after Germaine of Foix, Spanish King Ferdinand’s consort after Queen Isabella’s death. Caparra (in San Juan)—was actually established shortly thereafter. The island's first bank was established in San Germán and the MHISA museum occupies that building as a wonderfully renovated throwback to earlier days. If time permits, visit the old Dominican Church -- Porta Coeli -- a block or so away. Bot attractions are free to the public.Our personal thanks to Kelvin, the museum's manager/curator/on-duty tour de force, and to Flor de Maria (the museum's historian) for making this an exceptionally wonderful visit (twice!).