In recent months, I’ve visited various mining sites across Asturias, and every time I stood before one, I felt a deep sense of respect and admiration. Their towering headframes captivate you with their intricate structures, it’s hard to look away. I think of them as portals to other worlds, like a Stargate of the industrial era, though unlike the film, this one leads to the deepest darkness. The miners who worked there are the true embodiment of human endurance and the capacity to push physical limits. Those people were made of something else entirely.
Some of these sites are exceptionally well preserved; their historical value has been recognized and channeled into museums that honor their legacy. Others, less fortunate, deteriorate day by day, gradually erasing all traces of their former glory. And I want to emphasize “glory,” because it’s evident in the attention to design, the quality of materials, and the aesthetic value of their structures, something that has been completely lost today. No matter how much I look around, no modern factory or industrial building comes close to achieving that level of architectural craftsmanship. Today everything is purely functional: steel beams, prefabricated concrete, and soulless sheet metal. No brick walls, no lowered arch windows, and certainly no moldings or decorative flourishes. Those days are gone, and honestly, it doesn’t speak well of us.
It’s a shame that these buildings aren’t better preserved, because even in ruins, they hold far more value than any of the new ones.
