Industrial
Today, Manresa still preserves a large number of buildings witnessing that the capital of Bages is an industrial city. This route makes it possible to take a trip back to the origins of industrialisation in Catalonia, a story starting with the Panyos Factory, one of the oldest still preserved in Catalonia.
Manresa is part of the Catalan Industrial Tourism Network, an association of 21 municipalities whose mission is to promote industrial tourism. http://www.xatic.cat
Panyos Factory
Standing on the bank of the Cardener, the Panyos Factory is considered one of the oldest still preserved in Catalonia and also one of the oldest water-powered industrial monuments preserved in Spain. With an industrial unit 110 metres long and 5 storeys high, it was built in 1820 by Pau Miralda i Companyia. It later passed into the hands of a Terrassa company, which decided to close it in 1976.
The Nova Factory
Built in 1926, this was the flagship factory of the textile businessman Bertrand i Serra. This industrial complex, designed by Salvador Viñals and made up of 23 buildings, was a symbol of the female workforce in the textile sector and three thousand people worked here at one time.
The Nova factory is currently undergoing a great transformation to become a residential and commercial area, as well as a large open space.
El Salt Factory
Designed in 1861, this textile factory used power from the main waterfall in the Sant Ignasi Torrent. It was later known as the L'Aranya Factory as this was the name of the elastic ribbon company that occupied part of it during the seventies and eighties.
In 2007, the large exposed brick chimney was restored. The ground floor of the building currently houses the mosque of Manresa's Muslim community.
Balcells Factory
Operating from 1891 onwards, Sederies Balcells greatly enlivened the production of textiles or silk veils in Manresa, until its activity was stopped in 1965. It remained disused until 2005, when it was restored as the Municipal Music Conservatory.
The outstanding features of its structure - typical of a factory of the period, with several storeys - are the internal columns and the large windows on the façades.
The Slaughterhouse
Designed by the Modernist architect Ignasi Oms i Ponsa, the Slaughterhouse represented a step forward in sanitary and hygienic improvements when it came to the handling of meat, in a period of strong population growth in the city.
In 1992, activities there ended and the central unit was subsequently renovated. Since 2005 it has housed the University Library.
La Florinda
The work of the Modernist architect Ignasi Oms i Ponsa, this old flour factory is known as "La Florinda", which was the Christian name of the wife of one of the promoters of the company. It no longer operates as a flour factory and is the headquarters of the Manresa Local Police and Municipal Services, although its original structure is preserved.
Albareda Flour Factory
Built in 1909 by Alexandre Soler i March, the original factory underwent two subsequent extensions. This flour factory has been operating for almost a hundred years without interruption under the management of the Albareda family.
Renovated during the nineties, the façade of this three-storey building is the most representative of Manresan industrial Modernism, with the exposed brick decoration its outstanding feature.
Old Tanks (Technical Museum)
Until the mid-19th century, pollution of water because of industrial activity caused a large number of deaths through infectious diseases. Because of this, these tanks were built in 1861 in order to store and distribute water in the city.
In 1990 they were converted into the site of the Manresa Technical Museum, after the old tanks became disused in 1980. The most interesting features are the permanent exhibitions on ribbon making and La Sèquia.
The industrial complex of El Cardener
The factories that make up this industrial complex are La Favorita, Els Polverers, the Blanca Factory, the Vermella Factory and the Els Comtals colony - the only colony within Manresa. All of them are concentrated along the River Cardener, from which they took their water power. The complex can be seen from the train as visitors arrive in the capital of El Bages.
