Industrial Evolution

The origins of the town. The banks of the River Ego

In this room visitors will discover the importance of the natural resources, namely wood and water, to be found in the area surrounding the River Ego in the industrial development of the town.

The origins of the town. The banks of the River Ego

Life, Commerce and Society

This second room stresses the importance of certain factors out-with the arms industry which nevertheless exerted a considerable influence on it during the Modern Age.

Life, Commerce and Society

The Age of the Guilds. The Guilds, the Masters and the King.

This room is devoted to the master gunsmiths and their organisation into guilds, and shows their achievements and tribulations. In a scene set in a barrel-maker?s workshop, a day in the life of the Eibar gunsmiths is portrayed.

The Age of the Guilds. The Guilds, the Masters and the King.

The end of the Guilds. The 19th century

The atmosphere of this room is enlivened by the sound of a 19th-century workshop, dominated by the machinery of the Zamacola factory. Here we are taught the significance of the workshops, the very essence of the industrial sector in Eibar, and the peculiarities of the commercial ties that linked them.

The end of the Guilds. The 19th century

Eibar grows with the new century. 1900-1936

The transformation of the town, which had begun in the nineteenth century, is shown on an interactive panel. Starting with the urban development plan devised by Ramón Cortazar in 1903, visitors see how the new Eibar takes shape with the proliferation of large and small factories, the construction of new buildings such as the Town Hall or the Market or the covering of the River Ego.

Eibar grows with the new century. 1900-1936

Take-off. The 40s and 50s.

The sound from the radio in this room takes us back to the forties and fifties and a town that is being transformed and rebuilt not only industrially but also in terms of urban development.

Take-off. The 40s and 50s.

The swinging 60s.

Eibar enters the decade of the sixties as a modern industrial town in which a higher standard of living has reached both the household and the workplace. A number of televisions showing images of the film Eibar, an industrial town immerse us in the atmosphere of the swinging sixties.

The swinging 60s.

Times of Change. The decade of the 70s.

Continued growth had led to the saturation of the town and a large number of companies are forced to leave Eibar in order to expand.

Times of Change. The decade of the 70s.

The severe recession of the 80s.

The decade of the eighties is one of the most critical periods in the industrial history of Eibar, a time in which the world-wide economic recession that had begun in the seventies deepens and continues well into the nineties. Visitors in this room are therefore met with large photographs of abandoned workshops and factories.

The severe recession of the 80s.

The new town.

The latest changes in Eibar are shown in a large audiovisual display.

The new town.