El Guixaro
A little bit of background:
The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. It originates at an elevation of 4,131 ft (1,259 m) in the Serra del Cadí, a mountain range in northern Catalonia not too far from Andorra. The Llobregat is 110 mi (170 km) long and ends in the Mediterranean Sea close to Barcelona.
During the 19th and 20th century numerous industries were established along the Llobregat’s shores which took advantage of its energy and water. Some industries built bypass channels to transform the force of the water into mechanical energy, they also had a steam engine as a complementary source of energy for times of drought or irregular water flow.
These places are known as “industrial colonies” or simply “colonies” (colonias) since they were not only factories, there is a group of buildings surrounding the factory which provide housing for the workers and their families, schools, churches and even entertainment for the residents.
El Guixaro is one such place. It was established in 1879, a textile factory was built in 1888 and surrounding buildings shortly thereafter. The apartment building is of a peculiar style in which it is long and narrow with open to the exterior hallways. The ceilings are arched and made of bricks.
Today the factory still stands though it has been repurposed, it no longer employs hundreds of workers and it no longer produces textiles, as sadly, the textile industry is largely dead in Catalonia.
The old apartment buildings in the vicinity are still occupied, some homeowners have modernized and renovated the apartments with new flooring, walls, plumbing and up to date electrical systems, the external structure, though, remains the same as it was over 100 years ago.
El Guixaro is just 5 minutes from Puig-Reig, a municipality of about 4,000 inhabitants located 60 mi (98 km) from Barcelona.
