Museu de les Mines de Cercs

About the museum

The Museu de les Mines de Cercs, in the Alt Berguedà, tells the story of coal mining in this basin and of life in a mining colony. At the end of the 19th century the businessman José Enrique de Olano bought a large part of the mines of Cercs, Fígols and La Nou and began to modernise them. To keep the workforce in an isolated area he built colonies such as Sant Corneli, with housing, a bakery, a canteen, a church and a school, following the model of the textile colonies of the region. The mines were worked until 1991.

The museum occupies the former school and residence of the nuns, built around 1918–1920 together with the company store, offices and theatre. In 1931 it became the “Hogar del Minero” (Miners' Home), with a café, library, cinema, barber's shop and games room. In 1950 some 3,000 people were living in Sant Corneli.

The permanent exhibition is divided into two spaces: the one on coal, covering its extraction, transport and sorting, and the one on everyday life in the colony, with festivities, women's work, school and social and labour struggles. It includes two audiovisuals on the events of Fígols in 1932 and the 1977 sit-in (encierro), and a miner's house as it was in 1940. The visit is completed by the “Llums de mina” (Mine Lamps) space, a collection of 51 lamps, and by a mine train that runs 450 metres along the gallery of the Sant Romà mine.

Highlights

• Mine train that runs 450 m into the gallery of the Sant Romà mine
• Walk through the mine with a guide, explaining how coal was extracted
• Miner's house in the Sant Corneli colony, rebuilt as it was in 1940
• “Llums de mina” collection with 51 lamps
• Audiovisuals on the events of Fígols in 1932 and the 1977 sit-in

Permanent exhibitions

• Exposición permanente: el carbón y la vida cotidiana – Two spaces, one on the extraction, transport and use of coal and one on life in the Sant Corneli mining colony, with a miner's house from 1940 and two audiovisuals.
• Llums de mina – History of mining told through a collection of 51 lamps.

Founded

1999

Admission & discounts

Free admission for members of MNACTEC, ICOM, AMC and AMCTAIC, teachers, residents registered in Cercs and children under 5. 2×1 rate for members of the Club Vanguardia. Tickets are sold only at the museum ticket office.

Accessibility

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

The main entrance is accessible, with reserved parking spaces and a usable toilet; the permanent exhibition route is accessible along its entire length. The mine train has an adapted carriage, and the walk through the mine is possible in a wheelchair thanks to the paving. There is tactile paving and a tactile model at the entrance, an induction loop at the information point and in the mine, tactile objects (“La Mirada Tàctil”), braille and easy-read texts. Guided visits with tactile adaptations and sign language interpretation are available with prior booking. Inside the mine it is cold and damp (about 14 °C all year round).

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The educational programme includes workshops such as “Bàrbara la dinosaure”, in which a titanosaur skeleton is dug up and reassembled in the sandpit in the museum square. For family visits from age 7 the activity “Reconocimiento de rastros” (track recognition) is offered.

Getting there & parking

By car, via the C-16 at km 107.4 (Eix del Llobregat), turning off after the Cercs thermal power station towards Sant Corneli on the BV-4025 (4.5 km) and Fígols. There are parking spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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