Centro de Experiencias y Memoria de la Minería
HUNOSA interactive centre at the Sotón pit on the history of Asturian mining, with guided tours, a mining memorial and a machinery park.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Centro de Experiencias y Memoria de la Minería (CEMM) is at the Sotón pit in San Martín del Rey Aurelio. Sotón is one of the oldest mines in the municipality and in the Nalón basin: its coal outcrop was discovered in 1792. In 1901 it passed from the Sociedad Herrero Hermanos to Duro y Compañía, and both companies later merged into the Sociedad Metalúrgica Duro Felguera. Between 1917 and 1922 the shaft was deepened, which made it necessary to divert the Nalón river. The mine closed in 2014, the same year it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Cultural Heritage Site), and opened to the public in 2015. It is owned by HUNOSA.
The centre occupies the lamp room and washhouse building of the pit and tells the story of mining in Asturias and of HUNOSA through real and virtual objects and a high degree of interactivity. It recreates spaces devoted to miners, firedamp (grisú), workplace accidents, historical documentation, company shops (economatos) and the work of women miners. Its motto is “se puede tocar” (“you can touch it”), and around 90% of the items come from closed pits or have been reused. Outside there is a park of mining machinery and a memorial honouring workers who lost their lives.
The offer includes guided tours, a dramatised visit with booking, a mining escape room (“Sotón Escape”) and activities for families and schoolchildren, such as mining birthday parties and camps.
Highlights
- Interactive exhibition “se puede tocar”
- Daily guided tours at 12:00 and 16:00
- Dramatised visit with booking
- Mining machinery park and mining memorial
- Mining escape room “Sotón Escape”
- Mining birthday parties and camps
Permanent exhibition
- Exposición permanente sobre la minería y HUNOSA – Interactive tour of the history of Asturian mining and of HUNOSA, with spaces on miners, firedamp, accidents, company shops and women miners.
- Operated by
- HUNOSA
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €3.50 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €2.50Pensioners, unemployed people, people with disabilities, large families and students. |
| Children & teens | €2.50Children: €2.50. |
| Seniors | €2.50Pensioners. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €2.50People with disabilities. |
| Students & apprentices | €2.50Students. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €3 per personAdults in groups of at least 10 people: €3; children in groups of at least 10 people: €2. Groups of more than 12 people visit with a guide and advance booking. |
| Families | €8Two adults and two children. |
| Dramatised visit (by reservation) | €3.50No discounts apply. |
Rates published on Turismo Asturias and on the Sotón pit website; they may vary by season.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Family ticket | €8 · Two adults and two children. |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Hands-on stations
- Kids’ birthday parties
Mining birthday parties, children’s camps, creative and cookery workshops, a mining escape room and a space where almost everything can be touched.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
- Corporate events
The pit offers rental of spaces for events and for corporate training.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The dramatised visit requires a reservation. Groups of more than 12 people need a guided visit with a booking. School visits are available for primary, secondary, upper-secondary, vocational and university students (groups of at least 10 people), with teaching units and the character Carbonín. |
