Puerto de Sagunto

Puerto de Sagunto was a factory town in the early years of the 20th century. Its origins date back to 1900, when the Basque businessmen Ramón de la Sota and Eduardo Aznar founded the Compañía Minera de Sierra Menera. A 204 km railway line was built to link the mines of Ojos Negros, Teruel, with the new port infrastructures for exporting iron ore to other European countries.

These works involved the migration of a large number of workers and engineers, so the company provided the area with all the facilities needed for daily life. The company expanded into the steel sector and in 1917 founded the Compañía Siderúrgica del Mediterráneo, which after the Spanish Civil War became part of its competitor, Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. In 1971 Altos Hornos del Mediterráneo was incorporated with the aim of creating the IV Integrated Steelworks in Sagunto. The project was never completed, however, as the Industrial Conversion Decree was approved in 1983. After large mobilisations of the workers, the closure of the factory was imposed.

As for the industrial heritage, buildings such as the sanatorium, the church of Nuestra Señora de Begoña, the bosses' houses and the working-class neighbourhoods remain. Of the old factory, the General Workshop Warehouse, Blast Furnace No. 2 and the Spare Parts Warehouse have been preserved, which will become the future Museum of Industrial Heritage and the Workers' Memory of Puerto de Sagunto.