Museu Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira

About the museum

The Museu Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira (MDF) occupies part of the former industrial complex of the Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira, in Tramagal, in the municipality of Abrantes. It opened on 1 May 2017 and arose from a partnership between the Câmara Municipal de Abrantes, the Junta de Freguesia de Tramagal (parish council) and the Grupo Diorama, with many objects and stories donated by the community. In 2018 it was elected Best Portuguese Museum of the Year by the Associação Portuguesa de Museologia, and in 2019 it received the Galardão Cultura (Culture Award).

The company originated in “A Forja” (The Forge), a small workshop opened by Eduardo Duarte Ferreira (1856–1948) in Tramagal around 1880. The business grew and became the Fundição do Tramagal (Tramagal Foundry), already a large foundry in the 1920s, and in 1947 it became the Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira, S.A.R.L. In 1964 it opened the Berliet vehicle assembly line. The State intervened in the company in 1974, split it into three firms in 1979, and the company was dissolved in 1995.

The museum is a territorial museum, based on the principles of New Museology, and preserves the tangible and intangible memory and heritage left by the factory. The themes include the history of the industrial complex over more than a century; the production of civil and military heavy vehicles of the Berliet division; the stories of more than 2,600 workers and their families, with the country's first pension fund and access to healthcare, education, culture, sport and housing; and the workers' right to celebrate 1 May since 1901.

Highlights

• Over a century of memory of the Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira
• Trucks and heavy vehicles of the Berliet division
• Stories of more than 2,600 workers and their families
• Best Portuguese Museum of the Year 2018
• Free admission on Sundays

Permanent exhibition

• Museu Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira – Exhibition on the history of the factory, the Berliet vehicles and the lives of the workers and their families.

Founded

2017

Operated by

Município de Abrantes

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Sundays, in all Abrantes museums; 18 May (International Museum Day); 14 June (Abrantes City Day); 1 May (museum anniversary).

Free admission, with an up-to-date document, also for journalists, researchers and heritage and museum professionals, members of the APOM, ICOM and ICOMOS, tourism professionals on duty, unemployed residents of the European Union and school groups during the school term.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to TUR4all, the main entrance has no steps and wheelchair circulation is fully possible. There is reserved parking next to the museum, on a sloping surface, and the signage in the first room includes information in Braille. The lighting is not considered suitable for visually impaired people.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

There is a family ticket and a cultural mediation service for schools.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit