Ethnographic Museum of Grandas de Salime

The Grandas de Salime Ethnographic Museum occupies an area of approximately 3,150 m², and its permanent collection comprises over 11,000 objects that have been acquired from donations, some of them from the residents of Grandas de Salime, or that have been purchased by the Consortium. The different areas and rooms display objects of a diverse nature, which are a source of first-hand information on pre-industrial rural life and on the Communities of Western Asturias. Most of the collection comes from Asturian districts, such as Grandas de Salime, Pesoz, Santa Eulalia de Oscos, San Martín de Oscos, Allande, Villanueva de Oscos, Siero, Oviedo... but there are also items from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula - Galicia, Castilla-León, Cantabria...- and from the rest of Europe. The museum itself was created in 1986 based on the collection of Mr José Mª Naveiras Escanlar and others, by means of an agreement with the Regional Ministry of Education and Culture of the Government of the Principality of Asturias and with the City Council of Grandas de Salime. The collection has grown over the years into the institution that it is today. Consequently, this museum is the result of the efforts of a large number of people who, with the support of several public institutions, have transformed this museum into the most important cultural reference in Western Asturias. The museum is divided into four major content areas:

1. RECTORY The Rectory is a building from 1814 that houses several museum units where visitors may witness typical items in the life of a traditional country house, such as:

  1. The kitchen or hearth, which is the most important place in the dwelling and the centre of family life.
  2. The main room, which was used for all types of social events and as a bedroom.
  3. The bedroom or "cuartin", for the married couple or the grandparents and the place where most of the clothing was kept.

Other environments have also been recreated in order to display typical objects used by the people of the region in their daily activities, such as:

  1. The industrial textile hall, where the key element is the loom, the stairway where visitors may contemplate an excellent collection of yokes, as well as wooden or horn sharpening-stone holders (zapicos, cornos, gaxapos, cañutos o gaetos).
  2. The shoemaker's shop or cobblers, with its work table and tools.
  3. The cellar, housing the winery and the press used to squeeze the pulp of grapes, a pot still to obtain eau-de-vie, locally known as "orujo" or "aguardiente"...
  4. The bar or tavern, where parishioners and strangers could meet,
  5. The wood room, displaying the workshops of carpenters, coopers, basket weavers, spoon makers...
  6. The blacksmith's forge or "forxa del ferreiro", which provided tools to work in the fields and to shoe or brand animals,
  7. The lathe room, where visitors may contemplate dinner services used by country people and the lathes used to make the said items.

2. CORRAL The entrance to the museum is reached through the corral, an area that surrounds the Rectory. Here, there are a number of adjoining buildings that, in the past, served the house. The centre is dominated by a magnificent walnut tree, which provided shade and fruit for the residents of the rectory, and from where visitors may view:

  1. The "horreo" (granary), with a rye thatched roof, was built from a "panera" (1874)
  2. The water well with stairs,
  3. The "panera" (granary) from the late nineteenth century (the large chests or boxes used to store grain can be seen inside)
  4. The corridor, where a collection of wheelbarrows and carts is on display at ground level and grinding wheels at a higher level,
  5. The "cabanon" or shed, where a typical cart is on display; the first item to be seen when entering the museum
  6. And the "abeirugo" or outhouse, with a number of woodworking machines.

3. THE MILLER'S HOUSE There are two well-defined units in this part of the museum:

  1. The mill, inside which you may contemplate three water mills, used to produce flour, from Baldoria (Siero) Nogueirou (Grandas de Salime) and Collada (Allande). During the visit, you will see at least one of them in operation. In the outhouse, there is a mill used to grind spelt and several horizontal wheel mills, some of which are quite peculiar. Before coming to the miller's house we shall find the "eira" or threshing floor, which is the area where the grain was separated from the straw and, at the back, the tank or "banzao" used to accumulate water. The power of the water will be transformed into the energy that will move the mill's mechanism.
  2. The miller's house is a multipurpose area in the museum. Inside, we can find temporary exhibitions, a classroom for schoolchildren... It is currently home to three exhibitions:
         * Churns
         * The slaughter
         * Coffee

4. THE MANSION This is the last section of the museum usually visited and is dedicated primarily to the service sector in rural areas. The building tries to depict the essence, in its formal aspect, of the beautiful mansions that belonged to wealthy people or local gentry. Inside, you may contemplate:

  1. A general store full of groceries, which was a type of shop that stocked a bit of everything and where customers were friends.
  2. A Barber's shop that faithfully recreates the aspect of these local grooming establishments and that was donated by Mr Arturo Villaverde.
  3. The tailor shop that once belonged to Mr Antonio Vazquez and that this Museum is proud to display.
  4.  In the hall, there is a small provisional exhibition dedicated to communications, (but this exhibition will soon be moved to another area.)
  5. On the first floor of the Mansion, the stairway corridor is dedicated to hunting and fishing,
  6. Mr. Tomás Fernandez Linara's dentist surgery,
  7. The Grandas de Salime clinic was a sign of the economic improvement of some villages and of the improved quality of life of their inhabitants,
  8. The room dedicated to lighting displays the evolution of lighting systems from heather torches to light bulbs,
  9. The bee-keeping gallery, an important activity in Western Asturias
 10.  A country school, often with a single classroom, where many of our neighbours learned their basic skills.
 11. The weights and measurement hall where objects connected with weighing and measuring are on display.
 12.  The clog hall or the exhibition dedicated to wooden footwear, of which the Museum has a large collection.
 13. A new area will open to the public on the ground floor of La Casona in 2010: the kitchen. These kitchens, typical in wealthy homes, will lead to the end of hearth-based kitchens - like the one in the Rectory - and to the use of "economical cookers" that burned coal and logs. These cookers, which were very common in the larger cities of Asturias and in the mining areas, eventually extended to western Asturias.
 14. Furthermore, there are plans to add a new area in 2011: the back room, which will complement and provide new contents to the grocery or general store.

SURROUNDING THE MANSION As part of the "Casona" museum area, there are a number of constructions adjoining the main building, such as:

  1. The farming tool shed, where all type of agricultural machinery is on display together with an exhibition of cartwheels,
  2. The chapel, which displays elements of a spiritual nature or related to traditional rural beliefs connected with the cycle of life,
  3.  The "cabazo", which is basically a granary, mainly intended for maize (due to open to the public in the second half of 2010)
  4.  The soft drink and soda water factory, dedicated to the production of this refreshing drink, and which is expected to open to the public in mid-2010 (the brand "The Grandalesa" was precisely from Grandas de Salime)
  5. The bread oven (no scheduled opening date.)

5. EXTERIOR MUSEUM AREAS Two small buildings beyond the Museum complex, but clearly visible from the museum:

  1. A "cortín" is a construction used to protect beehives from bears, fire or theft and is typical of western Asturias,
  2. A circular dovecote, although not a very common construction in Asturias, their presence can be understood as an indication of the excellent financial situation of some mansions and as a means of social recognition and prestige.

• Ethnographic Museums Network of Asturias

• Official website of Museum (English, Spanish and Galician-Asturian)