Museu de Castellar de Catalunya | Human Towers Museum

About Museu de Castellar de Catalunya | Human Towers Museum

Human towers, known as Castels, (castles) is a recognised UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage event and sport whereby humans climb onto the shoulders of each other forming towers typically 7 people high. Castells and the world of Castellar is a fiercely competitive sport with 500 people teams from all over Catalonia competing to see who can build the towers with the most levels. The team Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls hold the record in 1981 for a 9 tier human tower.

The Human tower is made up of 9 very strong men at the bottom tier who support the weight of all the tiers above while they are surrounded by 150 or so other team members leaning into them like buttresses to provide stability. The tier 2 upwards team members then climb over the backs of the buttress team members and stand on the shoulders of the tier below. subsequent tiers climb up the bodies of the tiers to reach their positions with tiers the top tier has 3 people while two children climb up to make the crowning tier.

The scoring is based on a number of factors:
• Number of tower tiers
• Form and symmetry of the tower
• Orderly assembly (raising) and disassembly (lowering) of the tower

Visiting Museu de Castellar de Catalunya | Human Towers Museum

Now that I have explained what Human towers are you are probably wondering what a museum about a visual art form, sport and cultural event could contain.

The Museu de Castellar de Catalunya has:
• Memorabilia Room: contains the thick cotton coloured shirts of all the teams
• Child friendly science room: that explains the physics, physical training and discipline of castells
• Photo gallery room: vast photo collection and detailed history of the sport with audio visual displays.
• Human Towers simulator: a machine with a large screen. Visitors can stand under the padded bar of the machine as it simulates the weight and sensation of the bottom tier members as the tower is erected above them.
• Projection theatre: signature drop down 360 degree immersive screening room where images and video of Castells is played as a short presentation.

The museum is very immersive and child friendly.

Museu de Castellar de Catalunya Opening hours

• October 28th to June 1st
• Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00h to 14:00h & 15:00h to 18:00h
• Closed: Monday's, 25th & 26th December, 1st and 6th January
• June 2nd to October 27th
• Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00h to 14:00h & 17:00h to 20:00h
• Closed: Monday's

I recommend visiting this museum as part of the Fiesta Calçotada held in Valls on in January every year. Allow 60 to 90 minutes to fully explore the museum.

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