Malaga welcomes Russian Museum and Pompidou Centre Art Works

Last week Malaga's latest tourist attractions saw the arrival of masterpieces by famous artists like Picasso, Chagall and Kandinsky. Two convoys of lorries made their way across several countries to convey these artworks safely. The crates containing these precious works travelled across Europe to play their part in the grand opening of the Russian State Museum of Saint Petersburg and the Malaga Pompidou Centre. Art enthusiasts living at the Costa del Sol and tourists visiting their holiday homes in Marbella, Estepona or Fuengirola won't have to contain their curiosity for much longer, for the two museums are to open at the end of this month.

Malaga Pompidou Centre

The Malaga extension of France's famous Pompidou Centre is housed in the glass cube at Muelle Uno Marina, where the final preparations are under way for the March opening of Malaga's latest cultural tourist attraction.

While Spanish police had closed off the main boulevard leading to the port, a convoy of six lorries left Paris and travelled to the Costa del Sol to arrive last Monday night, where they disgorged their precious cargo at the new Pompidou Centre.

The Centre George Pompidou Paris had dispatched five specialists to ensure the safe transfer of the art works, which travelled in individual crates, where humidity and temperature levels could be controlled to ensure none of the paintings were damaged en route.

From Saint Petersburg to Malaga

Three lorries, each 18 metres in length, travelled the 5,100 km distance from Saint Petersburg in Russia to bring 169 works of art to Malaga, where the new Russian art museum is to open on 25th March. It took a week for the lorries to arrive and they were greeted by a police escort, when they reached the Spanish border.

The precious crates contained works by Marc Chagall, Alexander Deineka, Alexander Rodchenko, Vassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich and others. The new Russian Museum is housed in Malaga's famous Tabacalera, where the 36 crates were greeted by five members of the State Russian Museum of Saint Petersburg.  

They ensured safe installation of 100 art pieces destined for the annual exhibition titled "Russian Art, Centuries XV-XX" and the remaining 69 works destined for a temporary exhibition titled "The Era of Diaghilev".

Malaga: City of Culture

Malaga's new found fame as a world-class destination for culture and history holidays may eventually have wide-reaching effects on Andalusia's economy as a whole.

Not only are more people coming to Malaga Province during the winter months, property investors and people looking to relocate or buy a holiday home are also slowly beginning to view the Costa del Sol in a new light. The historic and cultural attractions Malaga and towns like Marbella have to offer are considerable at any time of the year, not just in June, July and August, the main tourist season up to now.

Spanish Property Market Improvements

Last year demand for property in the Malaga Province rose by 28%, according to official figures published by the Ministry of Public Works. A total of 23,929 properties were sold in the province in 2014, of which 9,190 were purchased by foreign buyers. This represents approx. 38.4% of all house purchase transactions.

In 2012, foreign home buyers bought just 5,140 homes, which means that over the last couple of years foreign demand for Costa del Sol property has nearly doubled. The main markets are still Britain, France, Benelux countries, Germany and Scandinavia as well as Russia, although there demand has decreased considerably due to the country's domestic difficulties.

Spanish demand for Malaga Province based homes also rose by 29%; however, according to the president of the Association of Constructors and Developers, this new-found interest does not extend to newly built homes, which are far less in demand than second-hand homes.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of homes sold to foreigners in the Malaga Province where purchased by buyers already living in Spain (8,010 out of 9,190), while interest from non-resident foreign buyers has not seen a significant growth. Malaga's two new tourist attractions may well change all that!