Museo Minero de La Unión

About the museum

The town of La Unión has always paid tribute to its miners, but the idea of a museum took shape in the eighties, ahead of the closure of mining, which came in 1991. The town council set up the Patronato del Museo Minero in 1984, and the museum opened on 4 December 1986, St Barbara's Day, in the Centro Cultural Asensio Sáez.

In 2001 it moved to the Liceo de Obreros, a building designed by the architect Pedro Cerdán and begun in 1901 as a space for education and culture for the less privileged classes. Because of its poor condition, between 2013 and 2023 the museum was housed temporarily in the Casa del Piñón. After a refurbishment designed by José Manuel Chacón Bulnes, it returned to the Liceo de Obreros and reopened in February 2023.

The current museography, by the studio Rocamora Diseño y Arquitectura, is immersive and experiential, and it received a Regional Architecture Award in the interiors category. The narrative is built on two axes, society and territory, and deals with mining, mineralogy, social and landscape change, the labour movement and the role of women. Almost all the pieces were donated by workers in mining and related industries.

Highlights

• Visit organised in five areas
• More than 300 mining and metallurgical objects
• Around 200 varieties of minerals from the Sierra Minera Cartagena-La Unión
• The last winding engine (malacate) of the Sierra Minera
• Award-winning immersive museography in the historic Liceo de Obreros
• Audio guides in Spanish, English and French, and a children's version

Permanent exhibition

• Exposición permanente del Museo Minero – Immersive route in five areas with more than 300 mining and metallurgical objects, around 200 varieties of minerals and the last winding engine of the Sierra Minera.

Founded

1986

Operated by

Ayuntamiento de La Unión

Admission & discounts

Admission includes self-guided access to the exhibition and the audio guides. Cash is not accepted: card payment only or, for groups, bank transfer.

Accessibility

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

The main exhibition is on the basement level and is reached by lift. The town council states that its museums are equipped for visitors with physical disabilities.

Kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

There is an audio guide in a version adapted for children.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Multipurpose hall “Antonio Ros Sáez”, with capacity for more than 200 people; the educational room “Mariano Muelas” is under refurbishment. Applications are submitted through the town council's electronic office.

Plan your visit