Ever since the Ages when metals were first used, mining has been one of the drivers of Huelva's economy
and culture.
At Riotinto Mining Park we have an opportunity to discover a bit more about this fascinating place and its
influence on the whole province, with particular attention to the British heritage in which the province's past
is steeped.
The world's most fascinating mine
At Riotinto Mining Park you can go for a different sort of train ride; go inside a mine; go around a genuine
Victorian house; and get to know the history of a region completely transformed by mining activity, by going
around its museum.
The Mining Museum
Housed in the former British hospital which was built for workers of the Rio Tinto Company Limited, the museum
takes one on a tour through the entire region's environment, geology and history. It has on display innumerable
exhibits related to mining and metallurgy from all periods of time, and other pieces of industrial archaeology
as emblematic as the Wagon of the Maharaja - the most luxurious narrow-gauge railway carriage in the world,
built for Queen Victoria of England and brought to Riotinto for the use of King Alfonso XIII when he paid a
visit here.
House nº 21
One of the Victorian-style houses which the company built for its British workers has been perfectly preserved
and is open to the public. At house Nº 21 in the Bellavista neighbourhood one can travel back in time to the
Victorian era, and feel the atmosphere of that period, as well as learning about how and why this neighbourhood
came to be built, and getting an insight into the British colony's way of life over those 84 years.
Peña de Hierro (Iron Crag) Mine
This mine's history dates from Roman times, although it was worked most intensively from the late 19th Century
onwards. The Peña de Hierro is one of the region's most outstanding beauty spots; and visitors, accompanied by
specialist guides, will be able to look out over magnificent scenery, visit a real subterranean gallery 200
metres in length, discover the source of the River Tinto, and get to know the place where the Astro-Biology
Centre and NASA are doing their research for the MARS project.
Mine railway
The 300-kilometre track of the mine railway built by the Riotinto Company Limited began to be laid in 1873,
and the trains continued running up until 1984. For the people of the region the railway was the symbol that
stood for the Industrial Revolution and economic progress. The Río Tinto Trust has brought 12 kilometres of
track back into use, and two restored locomotives plus carriages now run along it through impressive scenery
such as the former industrial nerve-centre of the region and natural landscapes, following the course of the
River Tinto throughout.
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