Living memory of the golden age of industry in Bizkaia.
Go back in time to see what a textile factory was like in 1892, meet Boinas La Encartada. This museum located in the town of Balmaseda owes its name to the factory on which it is located. A name that often gives rise to misunderstandings, because although the beret (txapela in Basque) was one of the star products of the Balmaseda factory, it was not the only product it produced. Boinas La Encartada produced all kinds of wool knitwear, from blankets to socks or balaclavas.
Berets La Encartada turismovasco
Until its closure in 1992, the factory maintained an integrated production line, buying raw materials and carrying out the entire process until the final product was obtained.
As a curious fact, we should mention that the wool of Latxa sheep, one of the most widespread breeds in the Basque Country, is not valid for the manufacture of the products that were made in Boinas La Encartada due to the thickness of their wool. The wool purchased was of the Merino breed, a sheep breed that has the finest wool and a higher yield percentage than the rest of the breeds, perfect for the textile industry.
The factory, an initiative of Marcos Arena Bermejillo, a local entrepreneur who after “making the Americas” decided to return home and create what we know today as Boinas La Encartada museum, left the municipality of Balmaseda an essential piece in the culture and history of Bizkaia.
“A textile factory from 1892, unique in Europe”.
“One of the few witnesses of industrialization in Bizkaia”.
These are some of the phrases that can be heard from the mouths of experts in the history of the Basque Country, a history very marked by industry, do you want to know the arguments that support these phrases?
We give you 4 reasons to visit the Boinas la encartada textile factory:
Machinery and Building: Both the machinery and the building and its surroundings are practically intact since the founding of the factory in 1892, thanks to this, today we can appreciate in great detail a textile factory of the year 1892. According to the guides and technicians of the museum more than 50% of the machines that make up the museum work perfectly, witness to this are the demonstrations that are made throughout the year making roar once again this giant of the industrial revolution. We recommend to coincide our visit with one of these demonstrations, as they will make it a much more attractive experience if possible.
One of the machines of the beret museum La Encartada
Visits: The visits of this museum are somewhat special and atypical, we can indicate that they are visits on demand, that is, as soon as we set foot in the museum the visit begins, regardless of the number of people who are present. If you intend to make the visit in a group, we recommend booking in advance, in order to enjoy the museum in a group. Most of the visit is a guided tour, in which the guide will take us back to 1892, are you up for it?
La Encartada Berets Schedule
Textile process: In this museum you can not only see how the machines worked, but also the hard work of the workers. Machines and workers with a single goal, to convert the freshly sheared wool into the products needed by the people. As you can see we can understand and learn the whole textile process in one visit.
All this can be seen in the 2 floors that make up the museum and its surroundings, because without its environment this factory could not work…. why? The answer is in Boinas La Encartada.
Wool in one of the processes of Boinas La Encartada
History: Since Marcos Arena created it until the day the Provincial Council of Bizkaia decided to open it to the public as a museum, this factory has always been part of our history. At the beginning as a fundamental piece in the industrial development and in the present as a reminder of our past and history.
As you know the Basque country has always been closely linked to industry, in fact, Bilbao was known as the gray city, the industrial city, today it is not so, Bilbao has changed completely and we must escape to places like Boinas La Encartada to remember our past. At times like these we must remember a famous phrase of the American composer John Cage: “It is not necessary to renounce the past when entering the future. In changing things it is not necessary to lose them”.
You can take advantage of the visit to take a souvenir of the Basque Country with a lot of tradition, a txapela of Boinas La Encartada.
La Encartada Berets Emblem
If you like history, engineering or simply longing for the past, you will love this museum.
We can say that we are in front of a jewel of the industrial revolution, in perfect state of preservation and intact since its foundation. We hope to see you soon at Boinas La Encartada, what are you waiting for to visit it?
Boinas la Encartada has our tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa”, which accredits it as a sure hit.
Boinas la Encartada, accreditation TurismoVasco Tiketa
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