Industrial and Workers' Memory Museum in Puerto de Sagunto: opens in 1927 warehouse
The Industrial and Workers' Memory Museum of Puerto de Sagunto opened on 15 October 2026 in the 1927 warehouse of the former steelworks. It has three floors and free entry until 31 December.
Anyone who wants to learn the steelmaking history of Puerto de Sagunto (the coastal district of Sagunto) can now do it for free: the Industrial and Workers' Memory Museum opened on Thursday 15 October 2026, and entry is free until 31 December. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 14:00, and on Fridays and Saturdays also from 16:00 to 19:00.
The museum occupies the former Effects and Spare Parts Warehouse, built in 1927 by the Compañía Siderúrgica del Mediterráneo (a steel company). It once stored moulds and spare parts for the factory's machinery. Today it shows objects, photographs, documents and testimonies that explain how the plant worked, how local life was organised around it and what role the workers played in the growth of the town.
The opening was attended by Sagunto mayor Darío Moreno, the councillor for Cultural and Industrial Heritage, Natalia Antonino, and Sonia Garcés, manager of the Fundació de Patrimoni Industrial i Memòria Obrera (the foundation for industrial heritage and workers' memory), which will run the centre. Community groups and people who have spent years working to preserve this heritage also came.
Moreno argued that the museum should not stop at the technology of steel: he wants it to be a tribute to those who came to Puerto de Sagunto looking for a better future and brought their experience to the municipality. Antonino noted that industrial heritage goes beyond buildings and machines, because it is work, dignity, collective effort and, above all, memory.
The visit is spread over three floors: steelmaking, the factory town and workers' memory. Original objects and audiovisual resources accompany the industrial processes, living conditions and labour demands. Among the pieces are an Ernst Leitz Wetzlar metallographic microscope from 1924, an optical level from 1918 and work clothing from Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. Content is available in Valencian, Spanish and English, and audio guides and easy-read materials can be accessed free through QR codes.
The museum starts with two temporary exhibitions, 'La batalla de Sagunt (1983-1984)' and 'Los tiempos del Puerto', which revisit the fight against the closure of Altos Hornos del Mediterráneo (AHM). This public limited company was created in 1971 to run the integrated steelworks of Sagunto. In 1984, the year of closure, it employed 3,332 people; its activity ceased on 5 October that year and the rolling mill became the basis of a successor company, Siderúrgica del Mediterráneo.
The opening ends a process of several decades. The warehouse was saved from demolition in 1984, passed to the Fundació in 1994 and in 2007 was handed over to Sagunto City Council for rehabilitation, funded by the Valencian Government and the council itself. The rehabilitation project dates from 2009 and the main works were awarded in 2011. According to Valencia Plaza in November 2022, the refurbishment was declared complete eleven years later, with a plan for four exhibition spaces spread over three floors of the north wing and the first floor of the south wing. Work to fit out the museum space was still pending.
In March 2025, according to valencianews.es, the council announced an investment of 400,000 euros to equip the museum, with a six-month execution period after tender. Planned features included models, videos, interactive experiences and a small library space.
Workshops for schools and families, lectures and other activities for different ages are planned until the end of the year. Moreno linked the opening to the moment the town is living: with large business projects arriving, Sagunto is growing and, in his view, it is worth remembering its roots and the mistakes of the past.
According to El Periódico de Aquí, with additional data from Wikipedia, Valencia Plaza and valencianews.es.