Category: Civil Architecture > Technological Installation
District: Açores > Lajes do Pico > Lajes do Pico > Baleeiros
Located in the village of Lajes do Pico, on Pico Island, this museum is situated in the coastal area, once the nerve center of local whaling activity. Its original buildings stand next to the old pier, in an area that still evokes the community's deep connection with the sea.
The Whalers' Museum occupies a complex of three sheds and workshops that bear witness to the town's history. These 19th-century constructions originally served as warehouses for equipment and as shelters for the boats used in whale hunting, as well as the forges where tools were repaired. The preservation of these buildings, now classified as heritage, has allowed them to be given new life as a museum space.
Inside these old sheds, the museum is dedicated to preserving and telling the history of whaling in the Azores, with a special focus on the people of Lajes do Pico. Through its exhibitions, visitors can learn about the difficult daily lives of whalers, their ancestral techniques, and the unique relationship they established with the sperm whale. The artisanal nature of this hunt stands out, carried out in boats powered by oars and sail, with the harpoon thrown by hand, a practice that persisted until very late and makes this collection unique in Portugal and one of the few in Europe to address this topic.
Right in front of the museum buildings, there is a reconstruction of a 'traiol', the structure where the blubber of captured sperm whales was processed. This outdoor replica offers a glimpse into a fundamental, though lesser-known, part of the whaling cycle, the transformation and utilization of the animals, carried out directly outdoors, by the sea.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 38.3962957,-28.2533703
Coordinates DMS: 38°23'46.7"N 28°15'12.1"W