Museo Historico y Militar de Chile
From the point of view of its historical context, the idea of gathering a series of military objects such as rifles, carbines, cannons, banners and flags, among others, to later form a museum, began in the mid-19th century. First, a Military Museum Section dependent on the Park and Maestranza is formed, then, on May 21, 1895, the Military Museum of Chile was inaugurated in the same place with a total of 1824 heritage objects.
After the creation of the National Historical Museum in 1911, the delivery to this institution of the collections of the Military Museum was decreed, since it was closed due to space problems. The collection was classified becoming part of 4 museums: the National Historical Museum, the O'Higginian Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts of Talca and the Museum of the Military School. However, the Army decides to re-form a Military Museum, the purpose of which would be to collect, organize, preserve and spread the history, heritage and military traditions of the Republic, from its origins to the present day. This materialized in 1997 with the creation of the Military and Historical Museum of Chile, the chosen place was the old Alcázar building (ex-Military School) and its collection was made up of elements from the Army itself, collections on loan and donations from individuals. The museum was inaugurated in 1997 in order to preserve and spread this interesting heritage heritage to the community.
As for the Alcázar, this building housed the first Military School and, later, the NCO school at the beginning of the 20th century. It began to be built in 1887, during the administration of President José Manuel Balmaceda and under the direction of the architect Henry Víctor Villeneuve, a contemporary building of great architectural works that welcomed public institutions in the city of Santiago and erected within the framework of the preparation of the First Centenary of the Independence of Chile.