Palacio de la Cultura Rafael Uribe Uribe
Black-and-white Gothic Revival palace by Agustín Goovaerts, now Antioquia's cultural institute.
The Palacio de la Cultura stands beside Parque Berrío in central Medellín and is the best known work of the Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts, who was contracted by the department of Antioquia in 1920. Designed from 1925 as the departmental government palace, it was built slowly and in stages, and the original scheme was never completed; the interior was finished to different designs in later decades. Its banded black-and-white masonry, pointed arches, turrets and steep roofs give it a distinctly Flemish Gothic Revival character unusual in Colombia.
The building was declared a national monument and now houses the Instituto de Cultura y Patrimonio de Antioquia. Visitors can use the Historical Archive of Antioquia, the Carlos Castro Saavedra departmental library, the Hernán Restrepo Duque sound archive and music documentation centre, and an art gallery and heritage room with changing exhibitions. A spiral stair rises through the central hall, and the upper terrace offers views over the square, the Museo de Antioquia and the Coltejer tower.
Highlights
- Banded black-and-white Gothic Revival facade of 1925
- Spiral staircase and glazed central hall
- Historical Archive of Antioquia and departmental library
- Terrace views over Parque Berrío and the Coltejer building
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