Discovering Cartagena

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Leaflet explains La Unión’s mining history

A little booklet titled “Discovering La Unión gives plenty of information on the history of the town, its mines and industrial and architectural history. The booklet is produced by the town’s tourism office and here’s a rough translation which we hope will be of interest to English-speaking visitors.

Discovering La Unión

La Unión is located in the Murcia region of southeast of Spain. Murcia enjoys a permanent springtime, with an annual average temple of 17C and warm winters. The sun shines 320 days a year, in one of the sunniest zones in Europe. The climate is very mild, making a wide range of leisure activities possible, including fiestas, sports and cultural events.

La Unión, City of Minerals

A Little History

The history of La Unión is interwoven with the varying fortunes of its lead, silver, zinc and iron mines, which have shaped the history of the town. Until the early years of the 1990s, the varying fortunes of the mines dictated the economic growth and the social and cultural life of the area.

The exploitation of the mineral resources of the hills around the town, known as the Sierra Minera, dates back to prehistoric times. The Mina Balsa, Atalaya and the Iberian-Roman village of Cabezo Agudo are some of the earliest settlements.

In the Roman period, hundreds of slaves worked in the rich metal industry of the hills. The archaeological remains of the Roman villa at Portmán (then named Portus Magnus), are a memory of the peak of Roman activity. Over the centuries that followed the end of Roman rule, mining and processing decreased and almost disappeared. At the start of the 19^th century, the villages that were later to combine to form La Unión, Portman, El Garbanzal and Los Roches, had to rely on the poor resources of the surrounding countryside and hills and on animal herding.

Mineral fever took off in 1840. The mineral wealth beneath the earth gave rise to the metallurgical industry, particularly foundries. The population increased, above all due to the arrival of immigrants from other areas of Spain. Large numbers of people came from Almería. At that time, the area was under the jurisdiction of Cartagena. The increase in mineral exploitation activities and the growth of the populations of Garbanzal, Herrerías, Portman and Roche, led to a separation from Cartagena and the setting up of a municipality and town hall named Villa de El Garbanzal, on January 1, 1860. Friction between the populations of the main settlements, Garbanzal and Herrerias, led to a change in the name of the new municipality, which was known as La Unión from 1868.

However, the mineral economy was fragile and under capitalized. It depended on the movement of prices on the London metal commodities markets, and there were repeated crises that kept the population in a constant state of anxiety.

The “golden age” for La Unión came at the end of the 19^th century and in the first years of the 20^th century. In 1908 the population reached 38,000 people, making it the fourth biggest centre in the region of Murcia. During this time there were important urban developments and many significant buildings were built. These included, the Public Market, the Piñon House and the Rosario House. However, there were outbreaks of violence in the period from 1898 to 1916 as a result of the social tensions caused by the poor working conditions.

A crisis in the minerals sector was made much worse by the First World War and the problems continued into the period of the Spanish Civil War. By 1950, the population had been reduced, largely by migration, to only 10,000 inhabitants. From then on, however, there was a modernisation of the methods of extraction, with the introduction of open-cast quarries and differential flotation washing. However, in 1991 all mining ceased and two millenniums of activity came to an end.

Places of Interest in La Unión

The distinguished heritage of La Unión’s heyday provides outstanding examples of days gone by that have intrigued several generations.

The Old Public Market (1907)

Architects: Victor Beltri and Pedro Cerdan. Listed building.

The market is now the home of the International flamenco event, the Festival of Songs of the Mines, and is also the home to the La Union’s tourism office. Exhibitions and art displays are also held there. The building represents the enthusiasm of the prosperous people of the town for the “progressive” style during the height of the minerals boom. The market is one of the great works built in Murcia at a time when new materials were becoming available, such as architectural ironwork and glass, and their use reflected a modernist enthusiasm throughout the region. A large octagonal dome was erected over two intersecting naves that form the shape of a cross.

In the interior, traditional materials were used, together with artificial stonework, and walls of masonry and mortar were crowned with plant motif pinnacles. Supports against the walls held cantilevered canopies. A large clock adorned the façade. The use of iron and glass allowed large spaces to be covered and maximised the availability of natural light.

The Piñón House (1899)

Architect: Pedro Cerdán Martinez. Listed building.

This building was constructed for the mining entrepreneur Joaqúin Peñalver. The structure housed luxury apartments available for rent, and it is an example of the local architectural eclecticism that flourished at the height of the mineral boom. The plan is in the form of an “L”. The corner is bevelled with a mirador, or bay window, and a metal cupola. Facades feature ballustraded balconies and curved fronts. The Piñón House is built of cement reinforced with lead, bricks, stone and artificial stone. The decorative elements include motifs from Egypt, Persia, Byzantium and from the Islamic-influenced mudéjar style, all handled meticulously and colourfully.

Chimney of the Roma Foundation (19^th century)

Listed Building

This organisation was set up in 1845 to re-work the spoil heaps and remains of the old Roman workings and it was one of the first metallurgical establishments in the area. The chimney was renovated in 1899 by Arthur H. Harrison and the business closed down during the 1920s. The chimney shows the distinctive style of local brickwork.

Workers School (1901)

Liceo de Obreros

Now the mineral, or mining, museum.

Architect: Pedro Cerdán Martínez.

This benevolent institution was founded to provide education for the orphaned children of workers. It was built a trapezoidal plan, with rooms around a central patio. The exterior is of bricks and plaster, with brickwork corners and columns. Above the entrance is a display in stone of the emblems of fine arts and of the mines, crowned with a globe.

The museum is divided into five sections with a complete collection of the tools used over years of mineral and mining activity. There are also scale models, surveys and plans, and a large photographic and document collection. In the mineralogical section visitors can see a wide range of the minerals of the region of Murcia and, in particular of the mineral hills around La Union.

Cortés House (1906)

Casa Cortés

Architect: Victor Beltrí Roquetas.

Now the SCH Bank.

This is an example of Catalan modernism. The façade is profusely decorated with pine elements and uses ceramics.

Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (1902)

Iglesia Parroquial Ntra. Sra. del Rosario

Architect: Justo Milán Espinosa.The church has a monumental interior space. There is a central nave and two lateral elements with chapels. A dome covers the intersection of the cross layout. A bell tower rises above the façade. The decoration is austere. The façade and the tower are topped with pinnacles. There is a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary by Carillo, and a painting of Christ of the Miners by de Jeriqué (1913).

Salón Condal (1913)

Architect: Pedro Cerdán Martínez

Now the Nieto Garage.

This was the first purpose-built cinema in La Unión. The building is constructed with bricks and is laid out on a rectangular plan without decorative displays. The building was a cinema, a place for spectaculars and the scene of meetings in the troubled years of the mining industry.

Parish Church of Our Lady of the Sorrows (1892)

Parroquia Ntra. Sra. de Los Dolores.

El Garbanzal.

The bell tower was designed by the architect Fancisco Paula Oliver Rolandi. The façade, walls and interior spaces were designed by Esteban Bernal Aguirre.

The church was built at an auspicious spot, where a hermitage had stood since the 18^th century, between the mountains and the campo, or countryside, of La Union. The Church of El Garbanzal anchored the form of the district. Tradition and modernity can be seen in the high octagonal brick tower and the façade includes images of the twelve apostles, in a neo-Byzantine style, and of the Pantocrátor, or Christ the Omnipotent Lord. The interior features a baptismal font, a false dome and an acrylic mural.

The Progressive or Co-operative building (1880)

Edificio El Progreso o La Cooperativa

Architect: Carlos Mancha Escobar.

This is an example of the local architectural style which uses brickwork extensively. The building was a centre for middle class gatherings and recreational activities in La Union, and it featured a café, a kitchen, and a salon-theatre. From 1904 it has been the home of the La Unión town hall.

The legacy of the mines

The buildings constructed during the zenith of mining activity are easily recognisable by their local traditional architecture which uses clearly visible bricks. Many of these buildings are in a very poor state of conservation, having been abandoned and vandalised.

Some of the more common structures that are found in the Sierra Minera are:

Pitheads

Castilletes

These feature a large pulley, or wheel, that allowed the miners and their tools and materials to enter and exit the shafts. These pitheads are the most distinctive symbols of the Sierra Minera.

Shafts

Pozos

Vertical shafts gave access to the galleries from which the minerals were extracted. There are also ventilation shafts which were constructed to improve the air supply below ground.

Chimneys

Chimeneas

Chimneys were needed to extract the smoke produced by the steam powered machines that were used above and below ground.

The washing plants

Los lavaderos

There are other facilities found in the area that were related to the mines and which were essential to the treatment of the extracted minerals – the washing plants. These were places where the materials extracted from the mines were stored and washed for the extraction of slag.

Mineral routes and hiking

La Union needed access to the interior of the hills, and routes provided access from ancient times for men, horses and vehicles. Later these were used to more extensively access the riches of the earth with a continuing flow of workers and materials. The road from Cartagena to the ironworks, known today as the Cartagena to La Union Road, was opened in 1858.

Route 33

Carretera del 33

From 1900, at the time when mineral activity moved into high hear, one of the principal access routes from the city started in the rambla, or dry river bed, of Las Lajas and continued over the level crossing with the narrow-gauge railway, near to the Old Public Market. This route, which ran south, forked. The original access was from the west, from the end of Calle Porras and ran to the coast at Portman. This was why the road was named the La Union to Portman Road.

This was a very important route for the miners, for transporting the minerals extracted from the hills and for the employment of the townspeople. Apparently, the road is known after the date of its completion, in 1933.

The Lo Veremos Route

Ruta Lo Veremos

From shaft one to shaft two. This is an example of underground mining. Shaft number one, which is 250 metres deep, is linked by a small road with shaft number two which is 325 metres deep. A permanent exhibition on both sides of the road displays examples of mining machinery. At shaft number one the shaft, the winding gear and a chimney can be seen. At shaft number two is a machinery house that used to house the equipment that ran the winding gear.

Major festivals

The International Festival of Songs of the Mines

Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas

In 1961, the First Festival of the Songs of the Mines was held. The festival is competition based and the first event was held at the Terraza Argüelles on October 13, 1961. Later the festival transferred to the Old Public Market. The Festival of the Songs of the Mines took root and from then on it has continued without interruption establishing its place as the most important event in the flamenco world.

The festival particularly encourages the development of new artists. The festival is very significant in the preservation and rebirth of songs and a percussive style, known as toque, that were in danger of extinction. Lastly, it has given dignity and new life to the flamenco art form.

There are three main elements to the programme that complement and enrich each other – the competitions for singing, for toque and for dancing. The major award is the Miner’s Lamp, given to the best singer of songs of the mines, characteristic of and developed in La Union. There are other awards for lower-Andalusian styles and other mining songs, such as the taranta, el taranto, la levantica, la murciana and el fandango minero.

For toque, the major prize is the Bordon Minero which confers enormous prestige both in Spain and internationally. For dancing, the El Desplante trophy is the top honour. All the prizes are accompanied by cash awards. During the nights of the festival and in the days before, many flamenco artistes can be heard and seen performing non-competitively.

The programme at La Union has been converted into the major display of flamenco song, toque and dancing.

***

The leaflet goes on to give information about other fiestas, about Portman and Roche.

end

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