Pozu Santa Barbara

Located in the district of La Rebaldana, in Turón, the Santa Bárbara pit was built between 1913 and 1920. It was the first major coal mining operation in the Caudal basin and one of the largest mining shafts in Asturias. Its excavation began in the second decade of the 20th century, it became part of HUNOSA in 1968 and remained in operation until 1995.

It consists of two vertical shafts, more than 500 metres deep, divided into eleven floors: the main shaft was used for the extraction of ore and rubble, and the auxiliary shaft was used for the entry of personnel and the transport of materials.

The complex also conserves the main mining installations: the main shaft derrick, the auxiliary shaft derrick, the power house, the auxiliary shaft power house, the electrical substation and compressors, and the ventilation sheds.

The main shaft derrick is 30 m high and the auxiliary shaft derrick is about 17 m high; the power houses (main and auxiliary) are rectangular, single-storey, high-rise buildings; the electrical substation and compressors form the central module of the shaft, consisting of three blocks, and the ventilation shack is a single-storey, rectangular building with large windows to ensure adequate interior lighting.

After the Civil War, excavation work was extended and, in the middle decades of the 20th century, renovations were undertaken to modernise the facilities. The renovation of some of the main buildings in the complex was carried out in collaboration with the engineer Ildefonso Sánchez del Río.

In September 2021, improvements began to convert the complex into a centre of reference for contemporary artistic interventions, which opened to the public on 15 October of the same year.

It remains open to the public during the periods in which programmed exhibitions are held. There are usually two exhibitions a year: from April to July and from October to the beginning of January, and it is also open on the dates when guided tours are offered, which are included in the Tourist Office's summer programme (July, August and September).

What is visited are the surface installations of the well and, if the visit coincides with an exhibition, this is also included in the itinerary. Outside the dates of the exhibitions and guided tours, the complex can only be seen from the outside.