Palace of the Inquisition Cartagena Historical Museum in Cartagena

Nice place to checkout while in town. You can learn about the history of Cartagena.

The place needs help to maintain its story of Cartagenas central role in the inquisición in the Americas. Read up on it before coming and let the spaces move you.

Museum of painful history of the Americas. - 2022/08/18

This museum is one of your must visit in Cartagena, just keep in mind humidity and heat , wear cool clothes.

The Spanish Inquisition conjures visions of witches, torture, and religious persecution. As an important seat of Spanish colonial power, Cartagena housed an office of the Inquisition. Today the Palacio de la Inquisición in Cartagena doubles as a museum of the Inquisition as well as the Cartagena Historical Museum. You can see some examples of torture devices and learn about the city’s history.The office was founded in Cartagena in 1610, the third site of the Inquisition in the Americas after those at Veracrúz, Mexico and Lima, Peru. It had jurisdiction over the colony of Nueva Granada, which included present day Panama, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela.The Inquisition in the Americas tended to be less brutal than in Spain itself, and that was particularly true in Cartagena. The city was an important international trading center, which gave it a cosmopolitan quality that tended to lead to more tolerance.However, during its 200 years in operation, the Inquisition in Cartagena did investigate close to 900 people. Of those, 56 were convicted and made to carry out acts of penance, 12 of those publicly, and 5 of whom were sentenced to death.

Limited objects or explanations about architecture. Mostly just displays with written information. Most not in english. Expensive for what is on offer.

A lot of potential but the museum is not really worth it. The building itself is beautiful but there is so little effort to make the collection interesting that you just feel disappointed. If youre trying to scape from the heat, youll be disappointed as most rooms have AC but they dont turn it on.

The museum could so easily be improved, with a bit of effort.

Go and learn about the history. Beautiful colonial style structure. A must see in the heart of the Ciudad Amurallada (The Walled City)

It wasn’t a great experience. Here are the reasons:- Few things to see- Loads of text, mostly in Spanish- The inquisition part of the museum is pretty small

Very nice museum with lots of information about the inquisition on the ground floor and on the history of Cartagena on the second floor.

Most text is only Spanish, but I had no trouble reading using the Google Translate camera feature. 1st floor is a moving tribute to victims of Inquisition, 2nd floor covers history of Cartagena and life of its inhabitants. I spent about 1.5 hours there (wouldve been less with English text). 1st floor AC units were not on, so deducting a star.

Good history of what took place during and prior to the inquisition.Majority is in Spanish but some English also.Museo set in beautiful old buildings.

Excellent little history museum that really spells out the consequences of colonialism for much of the Americas. I didnt even realize that the Spanish Inquisition had an impact here in the Americas until coming here. The history and the reasons and motivations are all laid bare by the historical accounts and biographies told within. I thought it was an excellent little history lesson and a good example of colonial history taught the correct way, by identifying the oppressors and the oppressed. From what I understood of the descriptions, it really does seem as if they try to present all of the history in an open and honest way, something we rarely see back in the states where Im from. Also helps that the outside architecture is all so beautifully preserved here in the walled city. It truly is like stepping back into time. Very inexpensive to get in as well, I believe it was 10 mil per person.

The museum is lackluster, there are only a few things on display, but nothing engaging or worth seeing. I truly recommend skipping this one.

I’m glad I visited; however the museum could benefit from audio tours in different languages. More explanation of some of the artifacts would have been helpful.

Not busy. Amazing history. I love history, so this was right up my alley.

A museum with a depressing theme, but surprisingly few exhibits. Totally not worth the entrance fee. Rather go visit the Navy museum instead.

If you’re interested in history and the historical context of places you visit, you should definitely check this out. I agree that most of the information is in Spanish. But if you understand Spanish, this gives you really important information and is very moving (albeit depressing).

A lot of wasted potential. Neither very educational nor a respectful memorial to those persecuted. Needs new management and employees.

Not too happy. Beautiful house BUT… there is just some info about the Inquisition. They have the place to show and explain how things were done but you won’t see anything about it. Just a few pieces not even old enough ( s XIX and XX and you just spend your time reading and reading a whole bunch of info about Cartagena which may be interesting but everything can be read in the web . Very sad and disappointing. I don’t recommend it. By the way, they have AC but they keep it off , so it’s hot as hell. Maybe it’s was a punishment for my lack of faith? 😳

While I understand the historical significance of the site, and the importance of lessons learned from the brutal behavior of the Catholic "church", the place is simply depressing. I left after 20 minutes. The world would be a much better place without organized religion.

Nothing special just a waste of my money. Everything in Spanish for local people. Pay for the family 72 pesos haven’t seen anything except pictures of their something you don’t understand. Very disappointing. If I knew what is there I would not even go there for free. If you want to see what is inside it’s all in the pictures I post here

A peaceful oasis with some interesting history lessons!

Really gives you the chills about the slavery era in Cartagena. Even you can feel it in the air. I didnt take many pictures as I wanted to be respectful. Please if you go there, ask for a tourist Guide or the recordings.

This place hits different on an emotional level. Cartagena is not just pretty beaches, you also need to know the sh*tty things that happened in history to really appreciate where we are now. Totally recommended, the entrance is free on Sundays, if you can get a guide, it would be even better.

Only 10% in English, the torture instruments are locked away from the visitors (around 3 small ones are on display). I understand why but locking them away is the wrong approach.Therefore, I cant recommend this museum.(The rest of the museum is 4/5)

Interesting info about the establishment of the Inquisition capital of the region in Cartagena. The second floor focuses more broadly on the history of the city. The building itself is definitely a highlight - classical architecture and colorful walls. Little bit of English but most info boards are in Spanish.

If you are an American visiting Cartagena, then this local is probably the "safest" in the city. Hang out here. Because if you stray outside the vicinity and start to visit other parts of the city on your own, then you will likely feel like you are in South City Miami, Florida. If you have not contracted a local escort familiar with the area, then I strongly encourage you to stick to the confines of this barricaded tourist community. Just my experience here.

Very disappointing. Not much in English. The inquisition part was very small and had very few artifacts, most of it was pictures but even they were few. Rest of the museum was about the history of Cartagena all in Spanish. The best part of the museum is the building and the courtyard. But you can look at beautiful buildings for free walking around in centro histórico.

It’s quite underwhelming and the signs are not really translated. But the place itself is very beautiful.

The buildings and presentation were excellent...the history and stories of its existence and former use was...VERY SAD to say the least. What horrid things the people endured back then. They were tortured until they confessed and then their property was taken from them. Over whelming horrid sadness!

Most of the museum is in Spanish, however even if you cant read it that well, some of the exhibits are still quite interesting. There is also a short history video which has English subtitles.

The Palace itself is a beautiful building with nice inner courtyard. Some of the displays are interesting such as the few torture devices, but most of the exhibition is repetitive and not very informative.

Very interesting historical journey of Cartagenas 211 year long inquisition. Very informative and respectful exhibits.

This is a beautiful building. The restoration efforts are evident. They are honest about the inquisition and review history of the establishment of Cartagena too. Worth the visit! Many rooms are air conditioned too.

Actually an interesting part of history. Unfortunately only the first floor is (PARTLYin english although the lady at the office told me it would be completely translated. Google Translate helped me for the rest. Presentation is OK

Only parts of the permanent exposition are in english, the rest is spanish only. However the building itself is worth to spend the entry fee (8$)

The Museum of the Inquisition is a place that gives you pause to think. Cartagena and much of Latin America possess so much beauty but beauty built on a dark past. The displays on the first floor were well presented with good signage in English and a even more comprehensive in Spanish. The second floor covers more of the history of Cartagena but unfortunately their is quite a bit less English in the event that your Spanish isnt great.Overall it was a good experience having gone with our three children (ages 9-13), all of them asked good questions stimulated by the displays and information presented. Tough to ask for more than that from a museum as a parent!

We plan to visit the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Zenubut it was closed for renovations so we decided to walk around and we ended up at the Cartagena History Museum (Museo Historico de Cartagena). We highly recommend opting for an audio guide since there are just a few annotations in English. Inside this museum, there is also the Palace of Inquisition showcasing historical artifacts. For more pictures, feel free to visit my Instagram (IG: kelledstyle).

Now its not an inquisition museum but a bigger historical museum of cartagena. Very nice for learning how Spanish people came America

Museum shows the history from the inquisition in LatinAmerica and how people was accused because of a different thinking based on other people comment and they were judged. Also they show a documentary from a "witch". The place has two other floors were artists are allowed to show their work and is a history peace from the Heroic Cartagena, price is around $8 USD. If you like this kind of histories you can pass by

Expensive for what it is, has a few bits about the inquisition historyYou can see everything in less than 45 minutes

Wonderful building. The exhibition should have more objects and perhaps less text.

This museum has a lot of history, not just about Inquisicion but about the history of Cartagena and other parts of Colomby.

From the outside it looks like this Museum doesnt have much to offer, but that is definitely not the case! It is important to understand our history and see how it has shaped modern society. The courtyards are beautiful and give you a quiet space to relax.

Is ok to see the evolution of the city the olace is doesnt anymore the palace od inquisition only now is the Cartagena museum dont like the fact theres not too much about inquisition anymore too bad.

Explains the history of the region really well. I wish every text was translated to English as well. You still get a lot but if I had to guess Id say maybe 1 out off 5 exhibit descriptions or just texts on the wall are translated to English. Definitely go have a look at the garden, the tree covering the entirety of it is amazing.

Nice museum that tells about the Inquisition in Cartagena, as well as the overall history of the city. Located in a very beautiful building.Due to a problem with the administration, they no longer offer guided visits (only audio-guides).

Heres a comprehensive overview of Cartagenas and Colombias history in both English and Spanish. The entry fee is reasonable and the exhibits top notch.