The Colonia of Vallcarca – Quint Mar, Spain - Atlas Obscura

The Colonia of Vallcarca

Quint Mar, Spain

An abandoned settlement where the workers were driven away by pollution from their own employment. 

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Vallcarca was originally settled by a small group of workers at the Fradera cement factory (opened 1903) and the nearby quarries which supplied the limestone (such workers’ villages in Spain  are ofton referred to as “colonia”). A quite impressive seaport was built in 1913 to ship the products from both the factory and quarries. Some return trips imported coal from mines in Pola de Laviana, also owned by Fradera

In 1937, during the Spanish  Civil War, aircraft belonging to the Nationalist side  bombed Vallcarca. At that time it was an important military target owing to the cement plant and its harbour.

The small town housed workers in the Vallcarca industrial and port facilities, as well as from the train station which was the only means of transport for the workers and their families in days when car ownership was rare. There was a problem with the cement related pollution which covered the whole area in thick white dust, a problem which will be  familiar with many who lived near cement works until the late 20th century.

The cement company imported machinery to remove the dust from the air, but the air cleaning plant soon broke down. Subsequently, in the second half of the 20th century, many of the younger inhabitants of the town refused to work in the plant. In addition to the pollution problem they regularly cited the “near-slavery” conditions of Vallcarca during the mid 20th century,  and looked for work in nearby Sitges and beyond. The workers’ village was abandoned.

The plant has passed through various owners and the Uniland  company  (purchased recently  by   Cementos Portland Valderrivas in 2007)  currently runs Vallcarca port. The cement plant is still in place but is not currently  producing cement. The train station was closed in 1994 and the old workers’ houses are abandoned. The exterior  areas are freely accessible  and they have become a target for graffiti fans (but tags and poor artwork rather than quality  street art). The site is a historic  reminder of the way that industrial workers in Spain lived in the early  part of the 20th century.

The historic  railway station  is not legally  accessible  but from what is available  on-line some people do enter the site. The outside of the historic  building is worth a look, even if it is on the Barcelona-Sitges train.

Some people visit Vallcarca during the summer, as its beach is still in a good state (and, unlike many beaches locally, dogs seem to be allowed all year round), but the  dust from the quarries and fugitive emissions from residual dust at the cement works during windy days can be problematic. 

Since 2022 a set of plans called “Vallcarca Nexr”are under consideration by the Catalan authorities.  This proposes a  re-use of the site with some  imaginative repurposing  of existing structures on site to produce a mixed use redevelopment.  Included , for example is the repurposing  of the clunker silo into a massive live music venu. What this might mean for the historic  colonia structures  and for the future of the rail station  is unclear. Whilst the rail station may be revived to serve the new development  it may take regulatory efforts by the authorities to preserve the workers’ houses in a recognisable form.