The Museum of the Colònia Sedó will hold open door sessions next weekend to celebrate the Winter Festival in Esparreguera. The Museum, one of the branches of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (mNACTEC), will be open to the public on February 11, 12 and 13 from 10.00 to 14.00h. Visits usually need to be arranged in advance, but on these open days the museum will be open to the public free with no need to book ahead.
The visit to the Museum allows visitors to learn more out about the structure and operation of an industrial colony. A sound and light show and model of the colony in the turbine room explain its history. A 3D audio-visual projection of the original turbine will be shown in the turbine water pipe. The visit ends with a tour around the Museum basement to see the galleries of the original turbine from 1881, now gone.
The Colònia Sedó was founded in 1846 and remained in operation until 1980 when the crisis in the textile sector put an end to activity in the factory. The Colònia Sedó, in the municipality of Esparreguera on the right bank of the Llobregat river, stands out from other colonies for its size and the large hydraulic turbine which provided the necessary energy to the spinning and weaving sections of the factory. The large industrial space of the colony now hosts companies, industrial activities and the Museum of the Colònia Sedó.
Industrial colonies, which were always built beside a river to make use of hydraulic energy, made it possible to establish a system of work organisations and social relationships that contributed to eliminating the major work conflicts found in city factories. In contrast, the colonies provided workers with facilities and services that were not always available to workers in city factories. With over a hundred years of industrial activity, Can Sedó is an excellent example of the history of the textile sector in Catalonia where this type of industrial organisation played a prominent role.
9 February 2017
