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The new La Unión Mining Museum, which has been in the pipeline for well over a decade, will finally open its doors to visitors on February 24. The project has cost the City Council close to 2 million euros after suffering countless delays since it was first planned in 2008.

 

Fitted seamlessly beside the old Liceo de Obreros building, which dates back to 1905, the museum will house a large exhibition room with a permanent collection and visitors can immerse themselves in a true mining experience in the depths of the basement. The gallery will also feature an auditorium with changing rooms and a projection room, an administrative office floor, an archive library, a large mineral warehouse and tourist office.

 

The mayor of La Unión, Pedro López Milán, stated that “it is a national landmark museum”, thanks to the traditional mining winch on display and the interesting collections and samples of minerals from all over the world, in addition to the valuable bibliographic collections on the mining activity of the 19th and 20th centuries in La Unión.

 

The spindle winch will be one of the main attractions. Used for extracting water and minerals in days gone by, it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) back in 2018 and is the only one of its kind in Spain.

 

Spanning three floors and 1,765 metres, the museum can be accessed via Calle Jacinto Conesa or through the original entrance in Liceo square.

 

Local architect Sonia Hernández explained that the culmination of “this work represents an important cultural and urban revulsion for La Unión. It is a new building of architectural splendour for the municipality, together with great Modern buildings, such as the Old Market and the Casa del Piñón.”

 

“This museum becomes part of the municipal network of museums together with the Archaeological Museum of Portmán, the Ethnographic Museum of Roche and the Cante de las Minas Museum,” she added.

 

 

Images: Ayuntamiento de La Unión