Catalonia - Art and Culture 2018

the textile colonies In the late 19th century, factories set up alongside the river to draw its energy from it. As a result, residential centres grew with schools and chapels, as well as the comfortable houses of the owners and the humble dwellings of the workers. Now these times can be relived on a visit to the colonies and their interpretation centres in Puig- reig or Gironella, among others. These activities are promoted and coordinated by the Network of Industrial Tourism of Catalonia (XATIC), which gathers more than twenty-five Catalan municipalities interested in preserving and showing their legacy. technology from other times An open top car from 1943, an extravagant motorcycle from 1950, a solar car that seems to be from another planet, a television with magnifying glass from 1930, a phonograph from the early 20th century: All of these and many more apparatuses form part of the collections of the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (mNACTEC), a facility created in 1990 in order to preserve and disseminate Catalonia’s industrial heritage. It is located in the building of a modernista factory designed by Lluís Muncunill in Terrassa. www.mnactec.cat

factories, mines, and colonies

Everyone aboard! This little railway crosses forests, offering views of the river Llobregat and leading us by gardens with caves, paths, and strange figures projected by Antoni Gaudí. This is the so-called Cement Train, a demonstration of how much fun it can be to visit industrial heritage. The train connects La Pobla de Lillet with the natural site of El Clot del Moro (Pirineus). In 1901, Eusebi Güell (Maecenas of Gaudí) and his partners set up the Asland cement works there in a modernista factory descending the mountain in Oil mines? Cement factories? The Industrial Revolution radically changed the Catalan countryside. It is worth seeing how.

© Turismo verde, s.l.

© Imagen M.A.s.

a sea of oil The most adventurous will venture into the depths of the Riutort Oil Mine (Pirineus). Millions of years ago this was sea, and the creatures that lived there became the oil that still exudes from the mine’s walls. Not far from here, in Cercs, it is possible to feel like one of the miners who, over 150 years, worked in the coal mines . Others will prefer a walk 86 metres underground, in the Cardona Salt Mine (Paisatges Barcelona).

stages. Until 1975, it was full of workers covered with ever-present dust. Today, it is visited by tourists who want to learn more about industrial heritage. The former complex and its Cement Museum bear witness to the effect of the Industrial Revolution. It transformed the Catalan country- side and also the life of its inhabitants. The country filled with the most diverse of industries, many of which can now be visited, allowing people to see these ancient technologies first hand.

Museu de la ciència i de la tècnica de catalunya, in terrassa.

Salt mines in cardona.

3.500 metres of tracks has the Cement Train

XATIC, the network of industrial tourism This network offers guided tours and experiences to production areas, museums, facilities, interpretation centres, and factories that are still in operation in order to promote industrial tourism and disseminate Catalonia’s rich heritage. The activities offered are experiential in nature, and are often intended for the whole family. The Museu de les Mines de Cercs, for instance, in addition to the classical guided tours, provides visitors with a new museum space called “The spectacle of the mine”, to understand how mining works in the 21st century.

experiencing glass Have you ever drunk water from a glass wine pitcher with a spout and wondered how the device is made? Or a setrill , a traditional Catalan oil cruet? What is the process for creating and decorating a lamp? In the Museu i Forn del Vidre de Vimbodí i Poblet you can find the answers to all these curiosities and many more. You can also experience the processes and enhance creativity with the workshops explaining different artisanal and traditional techniques for working glass. The activity is designed for the whole family and is offered in Catalan and Spanish every month of the year.

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For more information www.turismeindustrial.cat and www.mmcercs.cat

For more information www.museudelvidre.cat

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