Category: Civil Architecture > Museum
District: Castelo Branco > Covilhã > Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis > Minas da Panasqueira
The Mining Museum is located in the Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis, also known as Barroca Grande, in the municipality of Covilhã. It is situated in the Panasqueira Mines area, a region with a deep connection to industrial and extractive history. Its location allows visitors to observe a landscape where the mining legacy remains active and present, marking the identity of the locality.
This museum distinguishes itself by being housed inside an old fuel tank, which in the past was essential for the operation of the compressed air plant's engines. The building itself is known as 'the largest gasometer in the world,' symbolically evoking the gasometers that once provided lighting to the miners. With a remarkable height of sixteen meters, six and a half meters in diameter, and a weight of twenty tons, the structure itself is already a striking element of the engineering linked to the region's mining activity.
Inside, the Mining Museum offers a journey through three floors, displaying a vast collection of old equipment and documentation. This collection narrates more than a century of the history of the Panasqueira Mines, providing an immersion into the golden age of tungsten exploration, a mineral of great value and strategic importance. The space is also a heartfelt tribute to the figure of the miner, whose work and dedication profoundly shaped the identity and development of this area.
To complement the exhibition experience, a documentary available in the museum's auditorium deepens knowledge about the use of tungsten, contextualizing the relevance of this resource throughout history.
On the upper floor of the museum, a small opening allows visitors to glimpse a unique perspective on the industrial unit of the Panasqueira Mines, which remains in full operation. This privileged observation point offers a sense of the scale of current mining activity and the continuity of its legacy. Additionally, a viewpoint provides the opportunity to contemplate and photograph the surrounding industrial area and the adjacent residential neighborhood, establishing a bridge between the past portrayed in the museum and the dynamic present of the mining community.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 40.1542317,-7.7490852
Coordinates DMS: 40°09'15.2"N 07°44'56.7"W
Weather Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis
On-duty Pharmacy Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis
