The Vallhonrat Ethnographic Museum in Rubí began in the middle of the last century when Miquel Vallhonrat i Brau entered the world of collecting, initially with pieces from the family from the early 18th century, and then he received contributions from clients and the people of Rubí; then he himself would go looking for the pieces, with the passion for collecting and classifying everything that had something endearing to him.
As a young man, his son Pere (1941-2022) became interested in his father’s passion and became the curator of the Museum, forming part of his life and with the precision that his daughters, Núria and Anna, are the ones who continue with the same enthusiasm, the task that their grandfather began many years ago.
The building is located on the estate where carpenters from the Vallhonrat family had lived and worked since the mid-18th century. From the outside, a brick water tower stands that can be seen from various points in the town. The museum courtyard was being renovated, three thousand-year-old olive trees were planted, which are the beginning of a garden area that connects with the construction of a new space, approximately 800 m2, divided into two exhibition halls, plus some basements. The construction of the new space, the Vallhonrat Auditorium, was completed in 2009, and it aims to be a space where everyone can enjoy exhibitions and other cultural events in their own city.
The Vallhonrat Ethnographic Museum is a gateway to knowledge of the past, where new pieces often enter that help us learn from our ancestors. The will and the path to the future involves gradually gaining weight in the cultural life of Rubí, and by extension, being known by all those people who value and love their roots, by people who appreciate their own origins and who can learn from a not-so-distant past.
In December 2017, it was decided to establish the Vallhonrat Foundation with the aim of perpetuating, preserving, disseminating, conserving and expanding the ethnographic collection. At the same time, organizing cultural and artistic events to disseminate the local museum collection and culture in general.
In 2019, the Foundation was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi award by the Generalitat de Catalunya. Awarded for the enormous work of collecting, conservation and exhibition.