The route, approximately two hours long, can be explored on foot and offers a tour of the most emblematic places of La Felguera's steelmaking legacy. It starts at the Steel Museum, located in the former headquarters of the Duro Felguera company. This museum not only houses original pieces of machinery, but also provides an insight into the evolution of the industry and its social impact on the region.
Following the iron path, the visitor comes across the remains of the Felguera Blast Furnace, A testimony to the importance that steel production had in the economic development of AsturiasThis furnace was one of the first in Spain to use coke instead of charcoal, marking a milestone in the modernization of the industry.
Important milestones along the route
1/ Iron and Steel Museum: a must-see to understand the magnitude of the industrial phenomenon.
2/ Duro Fleguera factory facilitiesIn 1857, Pedro Duro founded the Langreo Metallurgical Society, the factory that paved the way for the industrialization of the Asturian Mining Basins. After the old factory was dismantled, the entire line of buildings facing Pepita Fernández Duro Street and some workshops remained.
3/ Homes on Melquiades Álvarez Street: they are homes framed in the typology of bourgeois-commercial architecture (late 19th and early 20th centuries). They have balconies, balconies, and decoration on the facade.
4/ Foundry SquareThe industrial facilities were dismantled in 1998, and the buildings constructed later attempt to imitate the style of the original buildings.
5/ The old one La Salle College: a building that was originally built as a school for the children of steelworkers, reflecting the company's commitment to education.
6/ The Dolores F. Duro Park: created to offer a rest area to workers, it stands today as green lung and refuge of collective memoryIn it there are a good number of monuments dedicated to illustrious people: Marino Gutiérrez, Suso, Benjamin Mateo and of course, a tribute to Pedro Duro.
7/ The church of San Pedro: financed by Pedro Duro, it is a symbol of the relationship between the company and the community. It is located on one side of Dolores F. Duro Park.
8/ Chalets on Conde Sizzo Street: These buildings represent a testimony of residential architecture linked to industry, since they were housing for factory engineers and managersWith their British-influenced architectural style, they stand out for their uniqueness within the urban landscape of La Felguera. Four identical houses stand out, two on each side of the street, hence their frequent nicknames "the semi-detached houses" of Conde Sizzo Street.
On the same Sizzo street as the semi-detached houses, there is the "Chalet for engineers": three stories high, adjacent to the others, with the date 1918 on the façade. European-style, with gardens and steeply pitched roofs.
9/ Refracta Fireplaces: are preserved two chimneys from the old refractory that was located on those lands.
A little further from the town center, you can visit the Workers' Barracks of Formiguera, El Molineru, or the housing for railway employees in Langreo in Vega. After the tour, you can head to the Urquijo neighborhood, in the northern area, a working-class neighborhood that was built between 1916 and 1918. There are nine housing blocks and a chapel.
Curiosities of the route
> In the years of greatest splendor, The Duro Felguera factory came to employ more than 8.000 workers, becoming one of the most important companies in Spain.
> The Church of San Pedro houses a commemorative plaque in honor of Pedro Duro, considered the 'father' of the steel industry in Asturias.
> During the Civil War, the steel industry of La Felguera played a key role a crucial role in the production of war material.
> The House of Culture still preserves original documents and photographs from the era in which the blast furnaces operated.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
