Visiting Tenerife Museums

Tenerife’s museums give an interesting and enjoyable picture of the history, nature and culture of the island and of the world, spending just a few hours visiting some of them will be more than worthwhile. The majority are modern, informative museums aimed at the public in general. Families will especially enjoy the fun, interactive exhibits in the Museum of Science and Cosmos in La Laguna.

There are also some fascinating exhibits dedicated to the ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands, the “guanches”, in the Museum of Nature and Mankind in Santa Cruz de Tenerife which will interest young and old alike. In general, most museums are closed on Mondays.

The Archaeological Museum of Puerto de la Cruz, in the tourist resort of Puerto de la Cruz, is also dedicated to the life and customs of the “guanches.” There is also a museum which focuses on the long and productive winemaking tradition of Tenerife or another on the exciting history of the island. The former is in the district of El Sauzal where it takes up a large part of the “Casa del Vino” (House of Wine). The other part is used for wine-tasting, sampling Canarian cuisine and a highly-recommended restaurant. The annex to the Visitors’ Centre, “Casa de la Miel” (House of Honey) gives information on the past and present tradition of beekeeping on the island. Then there is the very interesting Museum of the History of Tenerife, located in an old stately home in the historic centre of La Laguna, a city recently declared a World Heritage Site.

Crafts and local customs are the main attractions of various other museums in Tenerife, for example the Museum of Anthropology in Valle de Guerra, in the district of La Laguna or a collection of Latin American craftwork in La Orotava, with artefacts from South America and the Philippines. Art and Military History are other topics covered by Tenerife’s museums. The Arts will soon be greatly improved thanks to the forthcoming inauguration of the Oscar Dominguez Institute of Contemporary Art, located in a magnificent nine-storey building in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, designed by the architects Herzog and De Meuron.

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Guanche Art

Aboriginal art can be appreciated through the stone engravings and in the ceramic creations with geometrical designs, that were used as domestic utensils, as well as decorative objects. The most representative dish is known as a gánigo (a typical clay dish of Guanche craftsmanship that can be found in the Museum of Nature and Man and the Archaeological Museum , both in Tenerife), other less abundant ceramic forms are the plates, terracotta knives, tabonas (objects made with black stones in the shape of flagstones that were used to cut, lance and flay).

As to personal adornments, the most outstanding are the baked clay beads, in different tones and hues, beads made out of bone and shells, ceramic necklaces with shells, pieces of bones, wood or vertebrae. They manufactured materials out of jonquil, vegetable fibre or palms. They made figures representing their idols in baked clay, bone, or stone. From their rudimentary art there are thousands of engravings, known as panels, done with different techniques such as scoring and ‘piquetado’, among others directly carved into the rock.

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The Pyramids of Güimar

Yes, it’s official – Tenerife has it’s own pyramids! But how did they come to be built in Tenerife? The favourite theory is that they are step pyramids similar to those found in Peru and Mexico. World famous explorer and author (and Tenerife resident) Thor Heyerdahl is currently involved in setting up a Pyramid Park and research centre to investigate these strange formations.

Then there are the killjoys who say that the pyramids are nothing more than piles of stones, cleared away by local farmers, which have simply built up over time to vaguely resemble pyramids! Why not pop along to the pyramids at Guimar in south Tenerife and have a look and decide for youself. Mysteries of an ancient civilisation or a farmers’ rubbish pile? We know which theory we like (and it’s not the farming one).

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History of Tenerife Wine

It may have been a Portuguese man called Fernando de Castro who, in 1497, planted the first wine on Tenerife. Just a few months after the conquest of Tenerife, the history of viticulture was already beginning on the island. Shortly afterwards, at the beginning of the 16th century Tenerife’s wines began to conquer Europe. Their success was so great writers, such as Shakespeare and Walter Scott praised their quality in some of their work.

During the 16th and first half of the 17th century, viticulture was the driving force for the economy in Tenerife. Its wine production was exported in huge quantities from the Port of Garachico, in the north of the island, and this business created wealth and development. However, from 1663 onwards wines from Madeira and Porto began to replace Canarian wines as a result of political measures and better access to the British market and the winemaking activity on the island began to slow down. On the 5th of May 1706 a volcanic eruption destroyed the Port of Garachico and interrupted exports and wine stopped being such an important industry on Tenerife.

It wasn’t until the 20th century when winemaking regained its old energy and drive. In 1985 Tacoronte-Acentejo received the first designation of origin on the island, which boosted the sector and helped it enter a new stage of life. Quality and variety are the new dominant characteristics of the industry. There are now five designations of origin that control the production of over 100 wineries on the island.

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Mysterious Guanches

The natives of Tenerife where known as the bravest and most feared from the canary inhabitants. They were cavern men and they balsamated their deceased people in caves and prayed for their peaceful rest.
From the rests of mummies we can afirm the northwest african origin. Likewise from some vestiges from spoken and written language which made the conquest of the spaniards over the Guanches much more difficult. A few years ago a stone was found. It has the symbols ‘Z(a)N(a)T(a)’ engraved on it, which suposedly has some sort of a connection to the same name with a bereber origin. No definitive explication has been given until yet.

Likewise there are only theories and speculations of the way the Guanches even arrived the first time to the islands. European reports affirm that the natives did not have any knowledge about seacraft. It is also very peculiar that there were not even connections between the very near island of La Gomera and Tenerife. Another mistery is why the Guanches did not make any evolution in time despite the many visits from the Fenician, Punician and Romans.

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The Spanish Conquest

500 years ago the spanish conqueror Alonso Fernández de Lugo arrived at the bay of Añaza (todays harbour of Santa Cruz). The royal house ordered him to submit the last bastion of the canary natives. But the Guanches proved themselves as very brave and audacious as related by some chronists.
Bencomo, the king of Raoro (today La Orotava) the mightiest of all nine kings, congregated all his warriors and enticed the intruders to the Bay of Acentejo. 2.000 compatriots of the spanish crown fell and ‘de Lugo’ was seriously injured.

This happend on the 31st of May of 1494. Since then the town of the massacre is called La Matanza (the slaughter). Today besides the motorway there is a huge stone wall painting with a Guanche blowing the victory signal through a horn in the place of the massacre. One and a half years later, the 25th of December of 1495 and after the stench plague which weakened the Guanches the spanish crown finally conquered Tenerife.

For a long time the extermination of a nation and all it’s culture was held in secret and always denied. Under the mandate of ‘Franco’ it was even forbidden to talk about it. A few years ago a Rennaisance started and now even Guanches names are being registrated on streets. Families with the surname ‘Oramas’ are proud again of their name and tell about their ancestor ‘Juan Oramas’ a grandson of the King ‘Doramas de Guanarteme’ who was killed in Gran Canaria.

In Candelaria, the memory of the last nine Kings was kept alive by Lava made statues at the beach in front of the Basílica. The pass of time and especially the erosion corroded and destroyed partially these statues.

A few years ago the native artist ‘José Abad’ from ‘La Laguna’ made 7 bronze statues with royal sceptres, stone weapons, wood spears, slings and other symbolic objects. The proud Menceys as witnesses of the polemic times of discoverers.

After the victory over the Guanches, de Lugo constructed in 1496 the Metropolis of ‘San Cristobal de La Laguna’ beside a lagoon which was about seven kilometres away from the bay of ‘Añaza’. In 1723 the government’s mandate changed to the harbour city of Santa Cruz. The colonialist city from late Middle ages which would be later the University and Bishops city remained uncommunicative to foreigners. All the modern tourism ran into the walls of the city each time – but not in real walls because La Laguna was the first spanish establishment without citywalls. Short before it’s 500th birthday La Laguna woke up, remembers the historical values, and opens it’s doors; untill now the events of the Guanches Era have been obscured and since last year the Museum of History of Tenerife is open to visitors. This collection is placed in a renovated villa from the nobleman Lercaro.

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Atlantis (?)

For centuries, even after the Spanish conquest, it was believed that the islands were the uppermost peaks of the lost continent of Atlantis of which Plato wrote in his “Timeos and Critias”.

Atlantis was a big island, “larger than Libya and Asia together”, located beyond the Columns of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar). It was the dominion of Poseidon, god of the Sea, and it was inhabited by the Atlants, descendants of its first king Atlas, son of the god and a mortal women.

Atlantis was immensely wealthy and the Atlants were the most advanced people of the world. In the center of the continent raised the great capital town with the Palace and the Temple of Poseidon. Its scientists transmitted their skills and civilization knowledges to other peoples, with whom they maintained peace.

Atlants observed their laws of justice, generosity and peace for many generations. But in time they degenerated and became greedy and warlike. Others add that they discovered the secrets of the gods, secrets of cosmic energies and forces which could destroy mankind.

About 11,500 years ago Zeus, king of the gods, punished the Atlants. In the course of a single night volcanoes and tidal waves destroyed the big island in a disaster of cosmic proportions.

According to the legend, only the islands of Azores, Madeira, Canaries and Cape Verde remain from Atlantis. These were the lost continent’s highest summits. But its palaces and temples are still to be found in the bottom of the sea, a sea which took its name from Atlantis: the Atlantic Ocean.

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The Garden of Hesperydes (?)

Hesiod -a Greek poet of the 8th century b.C.- wrote about the legendary Garden of Hesperydes. The story starts with Atlas.

Atlas was a Giant, titan Japeto’s son. The titans were defeated by Zeus, king of the gods, who confined them in the Tartarus -the hell. Atlas had fought the war on his father’s side. According to some opinions, Zeus condemned Atlas to support the vault of heavens upon his shoulders. Other maintain that an angry Perseus showed him Medusa’s head thus converting him into a high mountain that supported the sky. Be that as it may, Atlas had to hold up the sky beyond the Columns of Hercules -the Strait of Gibraltar.

Atlas had three daughters, the Hesperydes: Egle, Eritia and Aretusa. The three lived in the most westernly land of the world, some wonderful islands in the Atlantic Ocean, a Garden of Eden where weather was always mild and where golden apples grew on the trees. Goddess Gea (Mother Earth) made sprout those apples as a wedding gift to the king and queen of the gods, Zeus and Hera.

The Hesperydes cultivate the Garden, but a fierce dragon looked after it. It was called Ladon, and it had hundred flame-spewing heads.

Hercules -also called Herakles-, the greatest hero of ancient times, had to perform twelve very difficult tasks, almost impossible to accomplish, the “Twelve Labors of Hercules”. Labor number eleven consisted in stealing the Hesperydes’ Golden Apples.

Hercules found Atlas supporting the sky near the Ocean, in the mountains which we call today Atlas (Morocco). Since the Garden of Hesperydes’ dragon knew Atlas, Hercules persuaded him to go to the islands and steal the apples, while he stayed as supporter of the sky in his place. Atlas went to the Garden in which he could enter since the dragon recognized him, killed the monster, stole the golden apples and returned to the place where Hercules stayed. Atlas, tired of his task, intended to leave Hercules with the burden upon his shoulders, but the hero managed to cheat him. He passed him the burden again and fled with the apples.

And the Garden of Hesperydes? Did it lose its Golden Apples forever? No! They ended by returning to the islands, since they were given to goddess Athena, who gave them back to the gardeners, the Hesperydes.

Concerning Ladon, the watch-dragon killed by Atlas… it lives on in their children, the dragon-trees. According to the legend, the blood flowing from the dragon’s wounds fell all over the Garden of Hesperydes. A dragon tree sprouted from each blood drop. Dragon trees -dracaena drago- have massive trunks from which raise a bunch of twisted branches, Ladon’s hundred heads. When a piece of bark or a branch are broken, the tree “bleed” a dark-red sap called “dragon-tree blood”, which can be used with medical purposes. Dragon trees grow slowly, but they can live for several centuries. There is a specimen at Icod de los Vinos -Tenerife- which is called the “Thousand-year old Dragon Tree”.

The Guanches, Canarian natives, revered the places where these trees grew as specially meaningful and full of energies. Today, several superstitions of the Canarian folklore are still refered to a dragon tree, growing lonely at the edge of a crag or a cliff.

When the traveler approaches the Canaries by sea, he can glimpse the misty form of the Teide floating over the clouds many miles before arriving at the islands. When we imagine how it looked when the volcano has been in eruption, we shall understand how the legend was born of a fierce fire-spewing dragon who watched over a wonderful Garden where the Golden Apples grew…

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