Colonia Rusiñol

Ter arriba, a pleasant walk will take you to the Rusiñol colony, a magnificent example of industrialization in Manlleu in the second half of the 19th century, where the imprint of the modernist artist Santiago Rusiñol is still preserved.

During the visit we will explain the historical evolution of the colony from an economic, political and social perspective, as well as its connection with the artist.

We will visit some of its most outstanding spaces: the gardens, the Cau Faluga (former owner's tower), the spinning factory, the working turbine, the director's apartment, the cooperative, the school, the canteen and the orchards, without forgetting elements that have now disappeared such as the church and the houses.

Visits for individuals take place on the first Sunday of each month. If you are a group, please contact us directly to arrange a visit.

History

The Rusiñol colony dates back to 1866, when the Remisa industrialists established a textile factory harnessing the power of the Ter River. A few years later, the property passed into the hands of Jaume Rusiñol i Bosch (1805-1887), a businessman from Manlleu, who founded the Jaime Rusiñol Cotton Spinning and Weaving Factory.

His grandsons, Santiago Rusiñol, the renowned painter and writer, and Albert Rusiñol, inherited the property. In 1889, the company adopted the name Rusiñol Hermanos and experienced a significant period of growth. During these years, the industrial facilities were expanded, and new housing was built for the workers, along with a church and the owners' villa, known as Cau Faluga, named in memory of the famous Cau Ferrat in Sitges, also designed by Santiago Rusiñol.

From 1912 onwards, the Rusiñol family abandoned textile production and the factory was leased to various companies. In 1940, the Llobet i Guri company, owner of the neighboring Dolcet factory, acquired the complex to harness the waterfall as a source of energy.

After years of inactivity, in 1980 the Claramunt and Rovira families, through the company Hilados Rusiñol, recovered production, dedicated to the wire mesh of cotton and other natural, artificial and synthetic fibers.

The factory remained in operation until 2009, becoming the last textile industry in the Middle Ter region to close its doors. Since then, the Claramunt family has spearheaded a major restoration of the industrial complex.

Rusiñol Colony

Colonia Rusiñol is a magnificent example of a textile colony situated halfway between a traditional settlement and an urban factory. The complex had all the necessary services for the daily lives of the workers: housing, a company store, an inn, a school, and a chapel, which no longer exists.

The grounds, surrounded by a wall of river stones and cement, are dominated by a spectacular brick chimney, over 60 meters high, and by the owners' unique manor house, a building that combines elements of Romantic and early Modernist architecture. Modernist decorative details, such as some wrought-iron lampposts, are also preserved.

The factory maintains the characteristic structure of riverside industries, with large windows that took advantage of natural light and several brick and stone buildings arranged parallel to each other along the Ter River. Outside, an old Planas y Flaquer turbine is still preserved, a testament to the hydraulic system that powered the factory.

Also part of the complex are the director's house, the caretakers' house, the fountain, the canteen —currently in ruins— and the hydraulic infrastructure, among which the lock, the gate house and a canal approximately one kilometer long that carried water to the factory to generate the energy needed for its power stand out.