Asturias is the region of coal and steel — a green and rainy strip between the Cantabrian Mountains and the Cantabrian Sea whose 19th and 20th-century mining industrialization left a landscape of pits, factories, and mines that no other Spanish community can match in density or atmosphere. The Nalón and Caudal valleys concentrate the largest abandoned industrial heritage in Spain: mining pits with rusted steel headframes, ceramic factories closed in the early 20th century, and mercury mines hidden among the undergrowth near the streams of Mieres. These are the 5 best abandoned places in Asturias, selected from our Urbex Spain Map — 600+ GPS locations across Spain.
Why Asturias Is a Paradise for Urbex
The density of abandoned industrial heritage in the Asturian mining valleys is unparalleled in Spain. Unlike other communities where abandoned sites are scattered, here the pits, wash houses, factories, and workers' homes follow one after another along the Nalón and Caudal valleys in a concentration that makes it possible to visit several sites in a single day. The Asturian urbex community is active and well documented.
1. San Fernando Pit – Aller, Asturias — Abandoned Coal Mine, Mining Pit Foundations in a Natural Area near Orillés (Known Location)
The abandoned foundations of the San Fernando Pit rest in the unique Asturian landscape near the village of Orillés, in the Aller municipality. The mining pit, now reduced to its masonry skeleton and rusted metal, blends into the valley’s vegetation with a naturalness only time can give — nature has reclaimed the platforms, tracks, and auxiliary structures of the pit with the same relentless slowness with which coal supported the families who lived in its shadow for generations. One of the most photogenic mining abandonments in the Aller valley, documented by Decadencia Urbana.
🔗 Source: Decadencia Urbana – Abandoned Mines Asturias
2. Ceñal Dinnerware Factory – Asturias — Abandoned Earthenware Factory, Founded in 1901, Long Industrial History in the Town (Known Location)
This Asturian earthenware factory stands out for its long commercial and historical trajectory. Its business project began in September 1901 under Senén María Ceñal — an industrialist who, supported by a group of merchants and bankers, started building a dinnerware factory that would mark the history of the neighboring town and Asturias. The workshops, ceramic kilns, and production machinery remain abandoned, documented in a personal photographic report capturing the essence of an industry stopped in time.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Must-See Abandoned Sites in Spain →
3. Pozo Esperanza Mercury Mine – Mieres, Asturias — Abandoned Mercury Mine, Hidden by Undergrowth near the San Tirso Stream, Tragic History (Known Location)
This mercury industry lies hidden by undergrowth near the San Tirso stream in Mieres. “El Tarronal” is just a nickname — this mine is called Pozo Esperanza, a curious name for a place with a tragic history. The mercury extraction and processing facilities, covered in vegetation and rusted by decades of Asturian rain, constitute one of the region’s most unique industrial abandonments: it’s not coal, it’s not steel — it’s mercury, the liquid metal that for centuries was one of the most valuable and dangerous in the world.
🔗 Source: Decadencia Urbana – Mercury Mine Mieres Asturias
4. Abandoned Indian Villa – Western Asturian Coast — Early 20th Century Indian Palace, Tower with Dome, Garden Overrun by Vegetation (Off the Radar — Only on Our Map)
An Indian villa on the western coast of Asturias — the palace that an emigrant enriched in America had built upon his return, with its characteristic tower topped by a green-tiled dome, its glass gallery, and its garden designed with trees brought from around the world and now completely overrun by vegetation. Asturian Indian houses are the most specific and emotionally charged architectural typology in the region: buildings that tell the story of emigration, fortune, and return in stone and tile. This villa has been abandoned for decades, with interiors partially intact and the modernist architecture deteriorating under the Cantabrian rain. GPS coordinates available on our Urbex Spain Map.
5. Abandoned Pre-Romanesque Monastery – Interior of Asturias — 9th-10th Century Church, Horseshoe Arches, Cemetery with Medieval Tombstones (Exclusively on Our Map)
A pre-Romanesque monastery in the interior of Asturias — the 9th or 10th-century church with its horseshoe arches and carved capitals, the ruined cloister, and the small cemetery with medieval tombstones among the undergrowth of the Asturian mountains. Asturian pre-Romanesque is the oldest and most regionally specific architectural style in Spain: developed in the Kingdom of Asturias between the 8th and 10th centuries when it was the only Christian territory on the Peninsula, its churches are a world heritage — and those not on the official tourist circuit have been abandoned for centuries in valleys few visitors know. Find it on our map — with access rating and condition report.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous abandoned place in Asturias?
The mining heritage of the Nalón and Caudal valleys — with pits, wash houses, and factories abandoned since the massive mine closures in the 1990s — is the largest and most photogenic. The Pozo Esperanza mercury mine in Mieres is one of the most unique abandonments due to the rarity of the mineral extracted.
Is urbex legal in Asturias?
Urban exploration is not expressly prohibited in Spain, but entering private property without permission can constitute trespassing. We always recommend researching the ownership of the place, respecting access points, and not forcing any locks or fences.
Why are there so many industrial abandonments in Asturias?
The massive closure of Asturian coal mines between 1990 and 2018 — as a result of European agreements on coal subsidies and competition from imported coal — left hundreds of mining facilities, wash houses, auxiliary factories, and workers' homes abandoned in the Nalón and Caudal valleys. It is the largest concentration of abandoned industrial heritage in Spain.
Safety Tips
- Pits and mine entrances: Asturias has hundreds of covered or uncovered pits and mine entrances — never approach any ground depressions near mining facilities and never enter any gallery
- Mercury contamination: at the Pozo Esperanza Mine, never touch or move any material from the ground — mercury is highly toxic by contact and inhalation
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and share your location
The urbex code: "Leave everything as you found it — the next explorer deserves the same experience."
🎯 Summary
The abandoned places in Asturias range from the foundations of the San Fernando Pit in the Aller valley to the earthenware factory founded in 1901 and the mercury mine hidden among the undergrowth of Mieres. Each of these 5 abandoned sites in Asturias captures a different layer of the region that fueled Spanish industry with coal for over a century.
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