Attractions and Places To See around Almadén - Top 17

A hexagonal shape, unique in the world. A complex of 24 two-story houses surrounds the bullring, forming a single block. Built between 1752 and 1765 at the initiative of Superintendent Francisco Javier de Villegas. Purpose: to provide employment for miners during forced work stoppages and to raise funds for the Royal Miners' Hospital of San Rafael through bullfights and the rental of houses. First bullfights: October 1752, with 21 bulls fought. Declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1979 and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012 as part of the "Mercury Heritage: Almadén and Idrija."

It is a tribute to the miners who worked in the Almadén mercury mines, protagonists of more than 2,000 years of mining history. The idea arose in 1953, but it did not materialize until 1996, thanks to a public subscription and institutional contributions. It was inaugurated on September 8, 1996, coinciding with the feast day of Our Lady of the Mines.

Today it houses the Mining Museum and the Historical Archive of the Almadén Mines, with documents dating back to the 17th century. The visit includes: Room 1: History of the hospital and its role in occupational health. Room 2: The mercury metallurgy process and its technological evolution. Room 3: Life and customs of the region. Audiovisual displays, dioramas, and panels on diseases such as hydrargyrism and innovative treatments (the sauna-box, "the beach"). Dungeons where sick prisoners were treated. Exhibition of mining tools, machinery, and artifacts.

The Almadén Mining Park is the living heritage of the two thousand years of Almadén exploitation. After the closure of the mining activity in 2003, the oldest mines in the world whose activity has been maintained to this day, show their secrets. Mercury, the living silver of the Romans, is shown in the Park in all its aspects, the extraction of its mineral, cinnabar, mercury sulfide, its transformation in metallurgical furnaces, its physical and chemical properties, its uses and, of course, its eternal history. The facilities of the Mining Park, the shafts, buildings and facilities are the heart of the Spanish assets registered on the list of World Heritage Sites under the name of Mercury Heritage. Almaden and Idrija.

An old mining town, Almadén is located on the slopes of the Sierra Morena. The Almadén Mining Park has a nearby car park where you can start your cycling route.

In 2003, the Almadén mines, the oldest mines in the world, were permanently closed after 2,000 years of mining in the area. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or at https://parqueminerodealmaden.es/

A monument dedicated to the miners, who were the true protagonists of the history of Almadén. Work inaugurated in 1996, carried out by Leovigildo Gallardo Blanco, from Almaden.

Building built between 1755 and 1773 to serve the workers who worked in the Almadén mines. Today it houses the headquarters of the Historical Archive of the Almadén and Arrayanes Mines.