Mining Museum of the Basque Country, the guardian of an important part of the recent history of our people.
We visited the Mining Museum of the Basque Country, an atypical museum, a museum with character and soul, a museum created by and for the people. Its founder, Carmelo Uriarte, guided by the fear that a whole way of life would fall into oblivion, was gathering all kinds of tools related to mining. This initiative was soon seconded by other former miners like him, causing the number of pieces in their possession to increase exponentially.
With no place to store these treasures, the Abanto-Zierbana town council ceded the old slaughterhouse of the municipality in order to protect from oblivion all those witnesses of the mining exploitation in the Basque Country.
Basque Country mining museum locomotive
Thanks to the work and passion of these former miners, the support of the Abanto-Zierbena City Council and the development project of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, today we have a place where we can contemplate and understand part of our history, tradition and culture.
Being a miner once meant much more than a simple job in the Basque Country, it was a way of life, a way of life difficult for our elders to forget. In this case, that fragment of Jorge Manrique’s couplets in which he says “any time in the past was better” is difficult to digest. The way of life at that time, far from being similar to what we know today in the Basque Country, meant working in subhuman conditions.
Remains of the mining past of La Arboleda
The oldest mining museum in Spain, that is the mining museum of the Basque Country. The museum was created in 1986 and is located in the old slaughterhouse in the municipality of Gallarta, a few meters from one of the most important mines in Bizkaia, the Concha II mine.
In previous articles we have already written about the mines that were located in the center of Bilbao, near what we know today as the Miribilla neighborhood. But we do not have to go all the way to Bilbao to be able to enjoy an unparalleled mining environment. The biotope of the mining area of Bizkaia is an unparalleled natural environment made up of the municipalities of La Arboleda, Muskiz, Barakaldo, Galdames, Abanto-Zierbana, Ortuella and Sopuerta. All of them were once large mining concentrations, with a large amount of ore under their feet. Nowadays, these towns are full of nature and culture, waiting to be discovered by all of us.
7 reasons to visit the mining museum of the Basque Country
–The mine: Its magnitude in plain sight is impressive, but we only see a small part of it. We can divide the mine into two sections, the open pit mine and the network of underground galleries. A huge void of 12 million cubic meters is presented before us in the form of a sinkhole, this is the open pit. Deeper, underground, the network of galleries runs more than 200 meters below sea level. Currently only the open pit mine can be visited, an event that is part of the guided tour. The subway gallery has about 60 chambers in which large structures such as the cathedral of Burgos or the old cathedral of soccer, San Mames, could easily enter.
The beginning of this story took place in 1961, the open-pit mine closed its doors in 1984, although the galleries continued to be exploited until 1993.
Open air mine, Concha II
–History: To understand what we are we must understand what we were, or as José Miguel de Barandiarán said, we must know where we come from to know where we are going. Undoubtedly, the guided visit to the Basque Country Mining Museum will help us to take a step towards knowledge. To learn about the way of life of the miners, the mining techniques and the society of that time are some of the things we will learn during the visit. Come and discover it!
Sculpture in La Arboleda
–Variety: The mining museum of the Basque Country not only incorporates to its collection mining tools, it also contains elements of the daily life of that time. This fact makes the museum gain interest, gain in culture, a museum that gains in importance thanks to its variety and quality.
Mining tools, museum of mining in the Basque Country
–The transformation of the landscape: The landscape around the mining museum of the Basque Country was not always like this, visit the museum and discover the incredible transformation of the landscape surrounding the Concha II mine. A transformation based on explosions, picks and shovels.
Large Mines in La Arboleda
–Sharing experiences: It is common to find former miners or Carmelo Uriarte himself in the museum, which makes the visit a peculiar visit to say the least. What for us is history, for them is life, full of memories and many years dedicated to mining.
La Arboleda mine environment
–Participative visit: The tour guides invite us all to participate in the visit, which the youngest members of the family appreciate. During the visit, we will have the opportunity to take pictures with the workers’ helmets and to test if we would be able to lift one of the picks used in that mine.
Mining hulls of the Basque Country mining museum
The price: The prices of the mining museum of the Basque Country are affordable for all kinds of pockets. An example of this is the price that adults pay to enter. 3 € if they opt for the entrance without guided tour or 4 € in case of opting for the guided tour. As you can see, a small expense to enjoy a great treasure.
Basque Country Mining Museum opening hours
Among rocks, wagons, pickaxes, explosives and perchers, sad and happy times were lived. The daily life of each of the 500 men who worked in the Concha II mine was “normal”, with the joys and sorrows of any human being.
From the depths of this mine great achievements were forged, such as the working conditions we enjoy today or epic phrases like “Aliron, Aliron, Athletic campeón”, coming from the Anglo-Saxon term “all iron” that was written on the betas that had a high degree of purity.
The Mining Museum of the Basque Country received our tourist accreditation “TurismoVasco Tiketa”. A sticker that accredits the museum as a point of high tourist interest.
Mining Museum of the Basque Country, accreditation TurismoVasco Tiketa
Undoubtedly a recommended visit. You can find more information on the website of the Basque Country Mining Museum.
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