MINAS DE THARSIS HUELVA Tharsis a village in

MINAS DE THARSIS (HUELVA) Tharsis a village in the province of Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. Located in the heart of the region of Andévalo, at the confluence of the Huelva-Lisbon international road, bordered by Alosno to the south, Puebla de Guzman to the west, Villanueva de las Cruces to the northeast and Cabezas Rubias to the north. In the year 2013 it had a population of 1840 inhabitants (INE). Is located 48 kilometers from the provincial capital, Huelvayrite. This village has been for many centuries a mining town, in whose mines was extracted, above all, massive pyrite for the manufacture of sulfuric acid. The main attraction of the Tharsis Mines is its five open pit courts. Located around the Sierra Bullones, they receive the name of Filón Center, Sierra Bullones, North Phylon, South Philo and Short Esperanza.

MAIN MONUMENTS The town center of Tharsis divided into two nuclei: Pueblo Nuevo and the workers' village. Pueblo Nuevo, structured on a single street and dedicated to the accommodation of English families, stands out for its English forms and for buildings such as the Guest house (or Miss Gray's house), the headquarters, the guardhouse headquarters, the English club and the home of the General Manager The guest house the headquarters

The workers’ village. Characterized in its urban layout by its curved streets and large squares such as San Benito, the casino or the old market. In the highlights: • The church to Santa Barbara Built in 1880, it is located in one of the most unique places in the urban area of Tharsis, as it presides over a large circular square surrounded by single-family mining houses in a row. Church of basilical plant with two-story roof of curved tiles, supported by brick factory load walls. It shows central nave and two lateral aisles. The main entrance is flared in its facade, framing the main front and a circular window-shaped window. The belfry is of two bodies, a tripartite composition at the base, although with a single bell, and with a single span in the highest body, topped by the traditional Greek steel cross. • The soccer field. One of the unique elements of the village of Tharsis, located on the outskirts of the village and linked to English culture since its arrival colonizing, is the municipal football field. Dedicated to the patron saint of miners, Santa Bárbara, it conserves the original location and layout and its transformations have been those of its maintenance

• The old market of supplies. Is a space of rectangular plant, around which the houses are arranged, flanking its four facades. It is the old market square and Houses-tent market. The only access that exists is a corner of the space. To this central space, of great dimensions they turn the houses that at the end of century XIX opened counters through which they traded with their products. In the central area several streets were made up of kiosks where food products were also exposed, but in this case they were demountable and mobile units. Built in 1880 • The old theater. is a rectangular building, very elongated, made with brick walls, covered with gable tiles flat, and symmetrical composition of hollows on both sides of the main facades. It has attached a series of buildings in its greater sides, giving a facade to the rest of the town that does not correspond really with the structure that presents in its interior. In addition to hosting the Theater initially, its use as a cinema and showroom came to pick up the installation of a supermarket inside.

• The inn is next to the current casino, although initially, being the rest of the municipality moved to where it is today the short, became a place of passage and focused more on the urban environment. • Mining casino. • The former mining hospital is the current headquarters of the Tharsis mining museum: collections of tharsis Located on the museum square, next to the old grocery market and the mining casino; The building is of rectangular plan, with covered to two waters of flat tiles, supported by walls of load of brick. It presents a traditional typology of English court, with the corners marked by a recercado decorated in a color different from the rest of the building. It presents a perimeter fence realized as a balustrade modulated by small machones repeated at regular intervals, leaving homogeneous cloths, and interrupting in the center of the building where the main access door is • At present, the mining hospital is used as an exhibition space for the Tharsis Mines and shelters the interesting and unique collection of wood models for the casting of spare parts of machinery, the collection of tools and mining utensils, and the famous Train The Traveler, as well as the Historical Archive of Tharsis Mines Tharsis Railway Mining casino Museum miner of Tharsis

• A few kilometers to the south is the English cemetery there are in its interior more than 30 relatively intact tombs, the others, due to the abandonment that had, have disappeared. In 2009 it was rehabilitated. The English cemetery of Tharsis has the same structure as the English cemeteries: There are two distinct spaces separated by thick walls made of stone. On its walls grows the ivy that contrasts with the white ground tombs, conveying a sense of peace and tranquility to this cemetery. • Monument to the miner located in the square to which it gives name, is the work of the artist and sculptor onubense Juan Manuel. An example of contemporary art, it represents the industrial memory of the Tharsis mine. Contemporary Art and Industrial Culture Monument to the miner English Cemetery

PARTIES Parties patronales. In honor of Santa Barbara, the patron saint festivities are celebrated from the 4 th to the 8 th of December. There are traditional events such as the Burning of the jachas: large bonfires made with pelatas, sticks, leaves, which reach more than 5 meters in height, ignite the day of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) Pilgrimage. It is the feast in honor of Santa Barbara, patron saint of the miners, which consists of a pilgrimage to the hermitage of the virgin located in the countryside. The second weekend of May is held for three days. The velada. For more than a century, the second and most popular summer festival "La Velada", a provincial referendum, is celebrated on the second weekend of July. The celebrations last for five days, starting on Thursday with lighting Of the fairground.

• Tharsis Cultural Week. The cultural week in Tharsis after the festivities, the pilgrimage and the evening is the most important cultural event of the year. With more than a decade of experience, it has become an essential week for the citizens of Tharsis as well as for the immigrants who visit us, as well as for the citizens of the surrounding villages. It is a week full of cultural, sports, musical, etc. activities. Which took place around the feast of the Assumption of the 15 th of August. • Carnival. The carnival is a public celebration that takes place immediately after Christian Lent (with a variable date between February and March depending on the year in which it falls), and which combines elements such as costumes, parades, etc. It is distinguished by the Burial of the pyrite, and a contest of disguises and a children's party takes place. • The sandal is a celebration that is given by the nonexistent Holy Week in Tharsis. Instead, on Sunday of resurrection, all the local residents move to the countryside, to the place known as El Barrito, where everyone spend a day of coexistence with family, friends, children and where, of course, everything is welcome The one who wishes to share a day with the tharsileños. The diet is traditional (potato tortillas, breaded loin, hash, etc. and you take the traditional Easter Bun.