The Exposición Nacional de Minería, Artes Metalúrgicas, Cerámica, Cristalería y Aguas Minerales (National Exhibition of Mining, Metallurgical Arts, Ceramics, Glass and Mineral Waters) was an exhibition held in
Madrid,
Spain in 1883. Situated in the
Parque del Buen Retiro
The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...
between May and November,
it was presided over by King
Alfonso XII of Spain and his wife Queen
Maria Christina of Austria
Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria ( es, María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was the second queen consort of Alfonso XII of Spain. She was queen regent during the vacancy of the ...
. Several countries participated.
History
The idea for the contest came in 1880 from the Spanish press, driven by the then Minister for Development,
José Luis Albareda y Sezde, and aimed to promote and publicize the Spanish mining industry both within the country and abroad. Enacted in 1882, it was arranged by
Luis de la Escosura y Morrogh, chief of the National Corporation of Mines, and his team.
Machinery exhibitors had until February 15, 1882, to apply for space, while specialized machinery exhibitors had an October 31 deadline. All non-machinery exhibitors had until November 30 to submit applications for main gallery space. Exhibition articles included machinery, tools, and utensils. These were the types used for mining, metallurgy, manufacture of glass ware, pottery, and utilization of mineral waters. There was no charge for space; water requirements for hydraulic and steam engines was also free for smaller machines. Transportation and passage of goods in bond for the exhibition received "liberal arrangements" through
customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
.
The official opening was scheduled for April 1, 1883, but because of the storms that delayed completion of the venue, it had to be postponed to May 30, when it was opened by the Kings of Spain and Portugal,
Luís I
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
.
The Minister of Industry,
Germán Gamazo
Germán Gamazo y Calvo (28 May 1840, Boecillo – 22 November 1901, Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6 ...
, gave an opening speech.
Belgium, England, France, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Spain participated in the event.
Attendees included Franco-Belgian companies, Ibarra and Orconera (Bilbao), the Hullera Company (Bélmez), the Artillery Corps in Spain, the Humboldt Company, the
Royal Company Asturian Mines, and
Rio Tinto Mines (Huelva). The Sociedad de Santander y Quirós published a work in 1883 documenting the event.
Grounds and facilities
The exhibition was held in an area of in the Parque del Buen Retiro. The project was led by the mining engineer
Enrique Nouvion. The exhibition was clustered in one area, enclosed with a wooden fence, surrounded by trees and vegetation, and stood in the center of the main pavilion. The main pavilion was separated by an avenue lined with large ceramic frogs, leading to a lake fed by a river. The lake emptied into a rockery with a cascade, and on it was built the Royal Pavilion. A second smaller lake led through another large lake, closing the circuit. The weather conditions were a major inconvenience, and the different pavilions were built under snow, rain and wind, to the point that the exhibition was closed during the summer months to finish the work and reopened on 8 September. Most of the facilities built for the event were demolished at the end of the show, except the Royal Pavilion, which was demolished in the twentieth century, and the
Palacio de Velázquez
Palacio de Velázquez, or Velázquez Palace (sometimes referred to as Palacio de Exposiciones) is an exhibition hall located in Buen Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain.
Originally known as the Palacio de la Minería, it was built in 1881-3 for the Expos ...
, which is the only building that remains today. The Development Minister commissioned architect
Ricardo Velázquez Bosco
Ricardo Velázquez Bosco (1843–1923) was a Spanish architect, archaeologist and scholar.
Velázquez's most notable architecture was erected in Madrid, buildings such as the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez (both in the Parque d ...
to build the main pavilion, later known as the Palacio de Velázquez;
his team included engineer
Alberto Palacio
Alberto de Palacio y Elissague (1856-1939) was a Spanish engineer and architect born in Sare ( Northern Basque Country) and grown up in Gordexola.Daniel Zuloaga
Daniel Zuloaga y Boneta (1852 – December 27, 1921) was a Spanish people, Spanish ceramic art, ceramist and painter. He is considered to be one of the innovators of art pottery in Spain. He worked primarily from his workshops in Madrid and Segov ...
, who through the
Real Fábrica de La Moncloa, handled the palace's decoration.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exposicion Nacional de Mineria (1883)
History of Madrid
1883 in Spain
Exhibitions
Technology events
19th century in technology
19th century in Madrid