The leather path in Igualada

At that time, the industry Igualada ranked as one of the most important in Catalonia, and the leather tanneries that housed the town. Being so big its relevance to Igualada became the first skin producing center of the peninsula.

This period appeared simultaneously also the first knitted industries.

The proposed route, then, is an itinerary that unveils the industrial heritage that allowed specialization in skin along the history of Igualada and still has strong economic importance.

The Leather Museum of Igualada

The route starts at the Museum of Igualada Leather and County of Anoia located in Igualada and is one of the pioneers of Europe in this area, which since 1996 is considered a section of the Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia.

This museum is located on the right bank of the Anoia river, specifically is installed in the building of Cal Boyer, which is home to this space as the Museum's collections are in two different buildings of matched .

Cal Boyer is a classic building is characterized by an old cotton textile factory in the late nineteenth century and was known as the Vapor Nou.

This factory, restored in 1986, retains two ships that are at different levels. In addition to this distinction, the ship New hosts a temporary exhibition hall, an auditorium and an exhibition on man's relationship with water.

Instead, the ship Vella contains part of the museum that allows you to perform a tour of the world of the skin: the story takes us into the skin, lets us know its uses and also the cultural significance it occupied in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, offers a more current that brings us to the value attached to it today, on the skin.

Once the visit to Cal Boyer, and once outside, you go down towards the river and reach the street where Cal Rec Granotes, the other building next to the bottom host Cal Boyer Museum Igualada Leather and County of Anoia.

Add that close to the Museum is also another modernist tannery was known popularly as the cathedral of tanners.

Cal Granotes

The street where Cal Granotes so named because there is a Rec that powered a flour mill in the thirteenth century by collecting water through a sluice. In fact, this channel is presumably the reason that Cal Granotes be installed at this point in Igualada and has been preserved to this day.

The presence of this channel, therefore, implied that the tanners of Igualada leave the fortified walls and settle with this energy source. This, then, as a canal side stood the Tanners district.

Cal Granotes is a former tannery on the bank are maintained and the clothesline, two floors typical of these buildings, and where you can witness currently one of the art shows vegetable-tanned hides from Morocco but adopted the Catalans to industrial production.

The Traginer (Drover) museum and the Cotton factory Igualadina

At the same neighborhood tanner and Rec is the Museum of (Traginer) Drover, exactly in the place that has adopted the same name.

This museum, also known as Antoni Ros Collection, shows the evolution of energy using blood transport and discloses the office of the carriers and others who are linked.

The museum is located in an old farmhouse, "Cal Merdetes" Ros family ownership of the 70s and hosts an exhibition spread over three floors.

In the same neighborhood, which is known for being the part of town with more industrial landscape identity and Igualada , is hosting the Igualadina Cotton, cotton mill known as Vapor Vell.

This factory was one of the first buildings built in Catalonia during the Industrial Revolution, and today is the oldest factory manxesterià style preserved in Catalonia.

Gasifier Cal Pasqual

Factory Cal Pasqual is a sample of second-generation industries accounted mechanization of the sector, as is Cal Boyer. This street is located in San Carlos de Igualada , in the expansion of the town.

Cal Pasqual was dedicated to the production of mattress fabric and shirting fabric. Although their distinction and attractive to be visited falls in the industrial gas generator was installed after the Civil War and operated until 1955.

The function of this gasifier, which is the only preserved in Catalonia, was getting poor gas to generate power for the motors to the machines and give light to the factory. This type of energy source became popular after the war due to the limited supply of oil in the world market.

Besides all these facilities, Igualada hosts many more other resources linked to the textile industry. Some of these have been preserved and others have conditioned and adapted according to the needs of society. Thus, for example, part of the old factory ship "Cal Font" as the fireplace, was renovated to host the Central Library of the population.