MhiC - Museo de Historia de la Inmigración de Cataluña
The project involves the Museum and the Documentation and Research Centre for the History of Immigration in Catalonia
The Museum of the History of Immigration in Catalonia (MhiC) is in Sant Adrià de Besòs, a town on the mouth of the river Besòs, between the city of Barcelona and the towns of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Badalona, which form a continuous urban spread.
The history of Sant Adrià is linked closely to migration. From the middle of the 19th century, industrial activity in the town increased notably. Amongst the many reasons that made Sant Adrià an attractive place for starting up industries towards the end of the 19th century were its closeness to Barcelona, the abundant water from the river Besòs, electricity, the good communications (roads, railway and tram) and the fact that land was more affordable than in Barcelona or Badalona. These factors saw the town industrialise rapidly alongside a great wave of immigration, initially coming from inland Catalonia (the first workers at the Baurier industrial complex, work on which began in Sant Adrià around 1910 , came from an already existing complex in Roda de Ter), but the town would soon expand with the arrival of more people coming from the areas of Valencia, Aragon, Murcia and Andalusia.
Throughout the 20th century, the town of Sant Adrià both enjoyed and suffered the obviously transformational capacity of immigration, with property speculation and the creation of neighbourhoods that were to be an alternative to the shantytowns seen in Barcelona at the end of the 1950s and which were home to cultural diversity and social and union struggles that presaged the transition to democracy.
Nowadays, Sant Adrià de Besòs, as with many other Catalan towns, is a paradigm of tolerance, social harmony and multiculturalism. During the 20th century and thanks the efforts of all of its inhabitants, both locals and newcomers, it has been able to convert itself into a European town of very human proportions where immigration is a source of pride.
The project involves the Museum and the Documentation and Research Centre for the History of Immigration in Catalonia. On the one hand, the old farmhouse is to be refurbished, which is to play home to the research centre and the administrative offices for the museum, whilst, on the other, a new building is to be constructed to hold the museum itself.
Address
Masia de Can Serra
Ctra. de Mataró, 124
08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs
Barcelona
Visit the website
The history of Sant Adrià is linked closely to migration. From the middle of the 19th century, industrial activity in the town increased notably. Amongst the many reasons that made Sant Adrià an attractive place for starting up industries towards the end of the 19th century were its closeness to Barcelona, the abundant water from the river Besòs, electricity, the good communications (roads, railway and tram) and the fact that land was more affordable than in Barcelona or Badalona. These factors saw the town industrialise rapidly alongside a great wave of immigration, initially coming from inland Catalonia (the first workers at the Baurier industrial complex, work on which began in Sant Adrià around 1910 , came from an already existing complex in Roda de Ter), but the town would soon expand with the arrival of more people coming from the areas of Valencia, Aragon, Murcia and Andalusia.
Throughout the 20th century, the town of Sant Adrià both enjoyed and suffered the obviously transformational capacity of immigration, with property speculation and the creation of neighbourhoods that were to be an alternative to the shantytowns seen in Barcelona at the end of the 1950s and which were home to cultural diversity and social and union struggles that presaged the transition to democracy.
Nowadays, Sant Adrià de Besòs, as with many other Catalan towns, is a paradigm of tolerance, social harmony and multiculturalism. During the 20th century and thanks the efforts of all of its inhabitants, both locals and newcomers, it has been able to convert itself into a European town of very human proportions where immigration is a source of pride.
The project involves the Museum and the Documentation and Research Centre for the History of Immigration in Catalonia. On the one hand, the old farmhouse is to be refurbished, which is to play home to the research centre and the administrative offices for the museum, whilst, on the other, a new building is to be constructed to hold the museum itself.
Address
Masia de Can Serra
Ctra. de Mataró, 124
08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs
Barcelona
Visit the website
As the main topic for the presentation at the Annual Meeting of AEMI (29 September-3 October 2010, Bilbao, Spain) “Migration Studies and ICTs” has been proposed for the call of papers. Deadline: May 25, 2010.
The Histories of Home Subject Specialist Network’s Second Annual Conference, Multiple Belongings: Diaspora and Transnational Homes will take place on Friday 21 May at the British Library Conference Centre in London and will bring together academics, museum professionals, librarians and archivists. Booking deadline: Friday 14th May.
