Museu de les Trementinaires
Museum in Tuixent dedicated to the trementinaires, women who walked across Catalonia selling herbs and remedies, with a botanical garden of medicinal plants.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Museu de les Trementinaires opened in December 1998 in Tuixent, in the Alt Urgell region, and forms part of the Ruta dels Oficis d’Ahir, promoted by the Consell Comarcal (regional council). It is dedicated to the trementinaires, women from the Vansa valley and Tuixent who walked across Catalonia selling herbs and remedies.
The trade emerged in the mid-19th century, when population pressure pushed many inhabitants of these valleys to emigrate temporarily to wealthier areas. The women used their knowledge of medicinal plants, passed on orally, to prepare remedies and sell them in the masies (farmhouses) of the interior and the coast. Their name comes from trementina (turpentine), the best-known remedy, which was applied as a poultice against pain, bruises and sprains. They set out once or twice a year and could be away from a few days up to four months. The trade employed a large part of the valley's female population for more than a hundred years; the last journey was made by Sofia d’Ossera in 1982.
The visit explains who the trementinaires were, which herbs and remedies they sold and how they organised their routes. It is complemented by the Jardí Botànic de les Trementinaires, on the outskirts of the village, which displays the plants they used and their properties, and by an arboretum and a botanical trail. The museum also organises summer courses and other activities on medicinal plants.
Highlights
- History of the trementinaires, women who sold herbal remedies while walking the country
- Trementina (turpentine) and the traditional remedies they prepared
- Trementinaires botanical garden with the medicinal plants they used
- Arboretum and botanical trail
- Summer courses on plants and essences
Permanent exhibition
- Exposición permanente sobre las trementinaires – Shows who the trementinaires were, which herbs and remedies they sold, and how they organised their walking routes from the Vansa valley and Tuixent to the plains and the coast.
- Founded
- 1998
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Group visits by advance booking (minimum 15 people). Admission to the museum includes a visit to the Jardí Botànic de les Trementinaires, on the outskirts of the village at the junction with the road to La Seu d’Urgell; for large groups, guided tours are available on request. |
