Madrid - Army Museum Museo del Ejército

The Army Museum, founded in 1803 by Manuel Godoy, Charles IV's Minister, is the largest collection of arms and armor in Spain after the Armería in the Palacio Real, and has been housed since 1939 in the only surviving part of the old Buen Retiro Palace. It contains an extensive collection of relics of Spanish military history. The oldest exhibit in the museum is the sword belonging to El Cid, the Castilian hero who found a place in European literature. On display in the Arabian room are the velvet cloak and sword of Boabdil, the last Moorish king. Eventually it is intended that the building will form part of the Museo del Prado.