Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia – IGHB

Nº Piedade, Av. Joana Angélica, 43 - Nazaré, Salvador - BA, 40050-001
History and Culture
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .
Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .

Important collections, grand collection, rarities, museum, library and many curiosities

Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. Centro, Salvador, Bahia. Foto: Amanda Oliveira .

From 1894, the date of its first headquarters in Largo 2 de Julho, until today, the Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia, the IGHB, has had seven addresses. The last one, on the corner of Avenida Sete de Setembro and Avenida Joana Angelica, has been there since the first centenary of Brazil’s Independence in Bahia on July 2, 1923. The imposing red-painted building houses bronze, marble and plaster sculptures, jewelry (medals, coins, insignia and decorations), flags, crystals and glass, porcelain, shotguns, sabers, indigenous spears, ritual Candomblé objects, African masks and sculptures.

The current headquarters of the Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia consists of basement, ground floor, first and second floors, with a belvedere – a terrace with a small gazebo. At the top of the IGHB building is a quartz-studded dome from where one of the first maps of the city was made, as it was one of the tallest buildings in Salvador. The view is simply spectacular but unfortunately not open to the public. There is also the beautiful auditorium Bernardino José de Souza, a noble hall with 180 seats, and the Newspapers Room, old Theodoro Sampaio room, where the oldest newspapers of the institute are, the largest collection of newspapers in the state.

The Institute’s museum collection has an important collection of portraits that record characters from Bahia and Brazil’s history. In the Historical Weapons room, there are rifles, muskets, and other artifacts from the Paraguayan War. In addition, there are numerous photographs of the poet Castro Alves, as well as a rosewood little table that belonged to him.

The Ruy Barbosa Library of the Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia has over 45,000 cataloged works. It is a significant bibliographic collection on Bahia’s history. This library is considered one of the oldest in the state, and has over thirty thousand cataloged works. The highlight of this collection is the rare works, with references dating from the 16th century, by classical public figures. Many of these works are organized and displayed on specially designed and carved rosewood shelves.

Even with this historical framework, the Institute remains contemporary, offering courses, lectures, seminars, conferences, exhibitions on various subjects. Much of them are for free, requiring only a prior registration. Learn more at this link (https://www.ighb.org.br/noticias)

Service

Geographic and Historical Institute of Bahia (IGHB)
Joana Angélica Avenue, 43 – Piedade, Salvador – BA, 40050-001
IGHB opening hours. Visitation: Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 6pm.
Library: Monday to Friday, 1pm to 6pm
Archive: Monday to Friday from 1pm to 5pm
Administrative: Monday to Friday from 1pm to 6pm
Website: https://www.ighb.org.br/ Instagram: @ighbahia