The Farinera of Castelló d’Empúries is a flour mill dating from the early twentieth century which has been turned into a museum which conserves all the machinery used in the industrial process of transforming wheat into flour in situ.

The institution

  • La institució

    The Farinera flour mill building and its water channel were purchased by the Castelló d’Empúries Town Hall in 1995 to turn it into an Ecomuseum, which opened its doors to the public in 1998.

    The museum is part of the Registry of Museums of Catalonia, which endorses its quality and excellence. It has been one of the museums in the Territorial System of the National Museum of Science and Industry of Catalonia, ever since it was acquired in 2010. It is also part of the Territorial Network of Museums in the Girona Counties and the Industrial Tourism Network of Catalonia.

  • The mission

    The mission of the Ecomuseu Farinera in Castelló d’Empúries is to show human beings’ capacity for innovation and technology as an engine for social change, as well as the impact it has on the environment. Through the conservation, research and dissemination of its collection, the museum aims to raise citizens’ awareness of the industrial flour and natural heritage and to contribute to building a more sustainable society that is more deeply engaged with culture.
     

  • The vision

    The museum’s vision is expressed in four dimensions:

    • Leadership in its field and in raising awareness of the natural heritage: The Ecomuseu-Farinera aims to be a leader in conserving, researching and disseminating the heritage associated with the flour industry in Catalonia. It also sets out to be a space of liaison with the stakeholders working around it to promote, disseminate and raise awareness of the need to conserve the natural heritage and foster more responsible living habits.

    • Cooperation with the territory: The Ecomuseu-Farinera aims to serve as a driving force in forging collaborations with other stakeholders in its region and its subject matter in order to increase the capacity for action, significance and citizen engagement while also maintaining its commitment to the existing networks. In this way, it aims to project the museum beyond is core sphere of influence.

    • Citizen involvement in constructing the museum: The Ecomuseu-Farinera forges synergies with citizens with an inclusive perspective (cultural, social, functional) as a local, participative cultural facilities to satisfy people’s interests and curiosity. In this way, it seeks to be meaningful through its cultural action with the goal of connecting citizens’ reality to the museum’s story, generating a compelling experience that manages to enrich people.
     

  • The values

    The values that shape the museum’s activities are:

    • Sustainability: The Ecomuseu-Farinera focuses on sustainable culture as the foundation of a society with responsible habits in its interactions with the environment, the use of natural resources, care of people and consumption.

    • Commitment to social inclusion: The Ecomuseu-Farinera acknowledges its role in building local social cohesion and fostering cultural participation by all groups.

    • Gender equity: The Ecomuseu-Farinera accepts the need to work on equity from the field of culture in order to attain gender equality in our society.

    • Fostering reflection and debate: The Ecomuseu-Farinera believes that one of the core social function of our heritage is to generate reflections on the current world through elements that tell about our history and our cultural and natural heritage.

    • Responsibility: The Ecomuseu-Farinera acts responsibly in its function as a public facility and has a steadfast commitment to transparency, social and functional accessibility and the normalisation of the Catalan language.
     

A unique heritage

We conserve part of our industrial heritage comprised of the flour mill machinery from the late nineteenth century, which serves as testimonial of an activity that has been conducted here since the Middle Ages.

We also conserve the natural heritage, the Rec del Molí, a water channel dating from the Middle Ages which starts in the weir in Vilanova de la Muga.

Inside the Museum

  • Pooled efforts

    In 2022, we will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Ecomuseu-Farinera of Castelló d’Empúries as an autonomous entity. The project has gradually taken shape over these years. The different phases of architectural rehabilitation have gradually allowed the former industrial facilities to be reopened for public use, this time as a museum which allows patrons to relive the recent history of our village and our country by sharing the evolution of the flour industry in Catalonia.

    Obviously, this is the outcome of a collective effort. The most important effort comes from our town, which has supported the Farinera project and brought it to fruition. Yet the other institutions and administrations that have provided support and financing also matter (European Regional Development Funds, Girona Provincial Council, La Caixa Foundation, Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, etc.), and so does the work done inside the museum, which is the least visible of all. These efforts have also been supported by many people —some of whom are unfortunately no longer with us today— and some companies as well.

    Today the Ecomuseu Farinera is a benchmark in turning our industrial heritage related to flour into a museum, where we have been the pioneers. We have also worked in consulting associated with industrial themes at different places around Catalonia, Spain and even the Catalan region in France.

  • Our team

    Carme Gilabert i Valldeperez
    Director 
    Degree in Art History from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
    Master’s Degree in Management of Historical-Archaeological Heritage from the Universitat de Barcelona
    Master’s Degree in Museology and Management of Cultural Heritage from the Universitat de Barcelona
    direccio@ecomuseu-farinera.org

    Núria Roura i Armangué
    Assistant director.
    Degree in Art History from the Universitat de Girona
    Master’s Degree in Cultural Heritage from the Universitat de Girona
    activitats@ecomuseu-farinera.org
    documentacio@ecomuseu-farinera.org 
    firapa@ecomuseu-farinera.org

    Assumpta Amat i Gómez
    Concierge
    informacio@ecomuseu-farinera.org
    visites@ecomuseu-farinera.org

DOCUMENTATION CENTRE

  • Presentació

    In implementation of the museum’s contingency plan for the COVID-19 pandemic, the documentation centre is currently closed to the public. You may request remote access to the collection.

  • The document collection

    The searchable collection is comprised of documentation from the old flour mill of Castelló d’Empúries and the collections that we have been given from other factories, including catalogues, supplier brochures, technical drawings, books and specialised magazines.

    It also includes current publications that have been either acquired or exchanged with other cultural heritage entities.

  • The photography collection

    In 2020, via the Department of Culture’s National Photography Plan, we received the series of photographs entitled La Farinera, 1994 by the photographer F. Guillamet.

    Requests should be sent to documentacio@ecomuseu-farinera.org or by phoning 972 25 05 12.

THE COLLECTION

  • One of the museum’s main missions is to conserve the flour mill’s heritage, which includes the machinery used in the industrial process along with mill, laboratory and office equipment. It also conserves tools from farming and different trades, most of which have been donated.

    These donations have enabled us to expand the museum’s collection and conserve the testimonies of technical objects and documents related to the evolution of the flour industry in Catalonia. To the extent allowed by the museum’s discourse and activity, these objects are brought into the museum discourse after previously consolidating and restoring them, if needed.

  • Object of interest for the museum

    Anything that attests to the following: 

    Items related to flour production, wheat cultivation and the transformation of the product throughout history.

    • Objects from the flour manufacturing process.
    • Laboratory equipment related to wheat and flour analysis.
    • Objects associated with the transformation of the finished products.
    • Signs from the factory. 
    • Theme: Energy. 
    • Elements associated with the Farinera’s natural and rural environment.
    • Elements associated with the ecomuseum’s region.
    • Traditions, trades, peoples, etc.

    If you would like to donate to the museum, you can phone us on 972 25 05 12 or send an email to informacio@ecomuseu-farinera.org.

The Mill Shop

  • The Mill Shop has been located in the old La Farinera warehouse right next to the reception area.

    The Mill Shop offers a well-chosen, extensive range of products related to the world of flour, wheat and bread, from food, textiles and cosmetics to stationery, books and more.

  • Orders

    If you would like to place an order, phone (+34) 972 25 05 12 or send an email to botiga@ecomuseu-farinera.org

  • Productes
    • Exclusive Ecomuseu-Farinera products.
    • Stationery.
    • Textiles.
    • Food. Wheat-derived products: pasta and beer.
    • Cosmetics.
    • Handmade crafts.
    • Products from the Regional System of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia.
    • Quaderns de didàctica i difusió (Teaching and Dissemination Notebooks) published by the Regional System of the National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia.
    • Books.
    • Volumes from the Library of Rural History of the Girona Counties published by the University of Girona.
    • Children’s books.

NETWORKING

Sistema Territorial mNACTEC

El Sistema Territorial  del Museu de la Ciència i la Tècnica de Catalunya  està format per 25 museus, que estesos pel territori català, expliquen la industrialització a Catalunya com l’esdeveniment històric més importants del nostre país.

Cada un dels museus, singular respecte als altres, explica una part del territori, una temàtica o un aspecte de la industrialització, tenint en compte tant els aspectes tècnics, com els socials i culturals.

Un dels seus principals objectius és la preservació in situ del patrimoni industrial.

Network of Museums in the Girona Counties

Ever since it was founded in 2015, the museum has been a member of this network, which is comprised of the Government of Catalonia, the Girona Provincial Council and the 26 registered museums in this county. The mission of the Network is to work together by cooperating and promoting coordinated museum policies.

Catalan Network of Industrial Tourism

 

The association Xarxa de Turisme Industrial de Catalunya (XATIC) (Catalan Network of Industrial Tourism), established on 27 February 2006, is comprised of nineteen extremely-diverse municipalities distributed throughout Catalonia with the commonality of an important and varied industrial legacy that lets you gain an in-depth understanding of the industrial revolution in our country, as well as the transformation of the territory and contemporary Catalan society.

The objective of this network of municipalities is to generate a common action line as an instrument of projection, attraction for visitors and creation of economic and cultural activity around industrial tourism.

ENOTUM

 

Notifications and other electronic communications

 

Electronic invoices

Perfil Contractant

Perfil del contractant

Distintiu de garantia de Qualitat Ambiental

  • More information



    Des de 2015, el museu dipossa del Distintiu de garantia de qualitat ambiental, un sistema d'etiquetatge ecològic que es va crear a través del Decret 316/1994, de 4 de novembre, de la Generalitat de Catalunya. És un sistema per identificar aquells productes i serveis que reuneixen determinades propietats o característiques que els fa més respectuosos amb el medi ambient.

    Quins són els seus objectius?

    • Promoure el disseny, la producció, la comercialització, l'ús i el consum de productes i de serveis que afavoreixen la minimització de residus o bé la recuperació i reutilització dels subproductes, les matèries i les substàncies que contenen, i també dels que suposen un estalvi de recursos, especialment d'energia i aigua.
    • Proporcionar als usuaris i als consumidors una informació millor i més fiable sobre la qualitat ambiental dels productes i dels serveis que els orienti en les seves decisions d'ús o de compra. És compatible amb altres sistemes oficials de garantia de qualitat ambiental.

    Aquest distintiu es renova cada 3 anys.

    Què fa el museu per ser més sostenible ?

    • Energia: disposem de detectors de presència als banys i en espais expositius, el 85% de les nostres lluminàries són làmpades eficients, aprofitament de la llum natural, més del 50% dels tancaments exteriors tenen doble vidres.
    • Optimitzar recursos: les aixetes i les cisternes tenen dispositius d’estalvi amb cabal regula.
    • Es realitza recollida selectiva de residus.
    • Es segueix una política de desmaterialització de la comunicació, prevenció de residus i optimització de recursos.
    • Compra de material amb etiqueta ecològica.
    • Ús de mobiliari modular que permet optimitzar els usos de diversos espais i fer-los polivalents.
    • Programació d’activitats de sensibilització en la necessitat de preservar el patrimoni natural i fomentar uns hàbits de vida més responsables.
    • Promoció de la formació en matèria de sostenibilitat.

Contact

C/ Sant Francesc, 5-7 17486

Castelló d'Empúries, Alt Empordà

+ 34 972 25 05 12 

informacio@ecomuseu-farinera.org