One of the unique museums in our country is located at number 23 Ríos Rosas street, inside the building of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain. This exceptional location also makes it one of the unknown museums in Madrid, despite the interest in the specimens it houses and the sumptuousness of its headquarters and access to it.

The collections of minerals and fossils had their initial nucleus in the work of the “Commission to form the Geological Chart of Madrid and the General Chart of the Kingdom”, created by Isabel II (R.D. July 12, 1849, Gaceta de Madrid of 20) to instances of the then Minister of Commerce, Instruction and Public Works D. Juan Bravo Murillo.

The institution changed its name several times, becoming “Commission of the Geological Map of Spain” between 1873 and 1910, “Geological Institute of Spain” (June 1910 January 1927), “Geological and Mining Institute of Spain” (1927 – 1988) and, from the end of 1988 to December 2001, “Geomining Technological Institute of Spain”, to return to being the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain to date.

The history of this active and fruitful institution is that of Spanish Geology, born along with other primary geological services in the world.

In this long trajectory, of which it will be 175 years old in 2024, the collections shared the various alterations that affected the Institute. Thus, after its original location in the old palace of the Duke of San Pedro (Florín street nº 2), next to Carrera de San Jerónimo, where the General Directorate of Mines had been installed since 1830, around 1870 they moved to the Convent of Trinidad, in Atocha street nº 14. A few years later, the lithotheque changed its location again to Isabel la Católica street nº 23 and later to Plaza de los Mostenses nº 2 (old Isabel la Católica street nº 25), until in 1921 it was The construction of the current building at Calle Ríos Rosas nº 23 (nº 9 at that time), completed during the 1940s, began.