History of Iron labyrinth in Sestao
Along the workers’ route "The Iron Labyrinth: 5 Kilometres of Labour History" you can discover first-hand experiences of the birth of industrial Sestao: housing problems, new buildings, labour disputes, the role of factories, urban socialisation spaces, and more.
A bit of history
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Sestao and iron were definitively united when in the early 19th century at least 65% of the population worked hauling this mineral. Iron has characterised the town’s industrial and urban development. Emblematic companies dedicated to transforming iron into steel or using it to build extraordinary ships needed labour to live in this authentic factory town.
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If you’re looking for straight, orderly streets, this is not the place. Sestao is a combination of streets with their own internal logic, industrial logic. They are a certainly captivating tangle showing an urbanism typical of industrial places. This space, from the lower factory area to the high residential area, grew out of need. All of this truly makes Sestao iron labyrinth.
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Sestao couldn't exist without industry and factories. Sestao was built on them: the streets and squares were designed, homes and neighbourhoods built, cinemas and bars filled with people thanks to factories. None of this would be the same if companies like Altos Hornos de Vizcaya, La Naval, S.A., Babcock & Wilcox, Aurrera, and more hadn't been here.
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On its workers’ route, you can discover first-hand experiences from the birth of industrial towns: housing problems, new buildings, social conflicts, the worker transportation, the opening of urban spaces, and more. This workers’ route focuses its attention on material heritage reflected by memories, people, time and history.