The Royal Miners’ Hospital of San Rafael is an outstanding building, but one with a simple design that responds to criteria based strictly on functionality and building economy. The only representative feature is the open-faced brick front, balcony and spire on the main façade. There is also a niche with a statue of the Archangel Raphael from the colonies of America.
It was designated an asset of
cultural interest in 1992.
The refurbishment work was completed in 2003 and co-financed by funds from the ERDF and Fundación Caja Madrid.
It is currently home to
Fundación Almadén-Francisco Javier de Villegas and contains the historical archive of the mines and the miners’ museum.
It is located in Almadén, but outside the mining enclosure.
The Miners' Hospital was founded in
1752 by the superintendent Francisco Javier de Villegas. It was one of the first hospitals in Spain to have professional staff and it can be considered as an achievement of the ideals upheld by the health movement of the 18th century.
Miners’ Museum :
This shows visitors two aspects of a miner's life: One room is dedicated to their
health, with particular emphasis on the typical disease
hydrargyrosis and the other explains how the miners
lived and worked, their family, their way of life, their hobbies and forms of entertainment, etc.
Historical archive of the Almadén mines:
The current volume of the collection of the archive totals 2667 linear metres, organised into five sections:
| I | Old collection (18th century to 1918) |
| II | Board of Directors of Minas de Almadén y Arrayanes (1918-1982) |
| III | Minas de Almadén y Arrayanes, S.A. (1982-present day) |
| VI | Map collection |
| V | Library |
Visitor information
El Hospital de Mineros de San Rafael, Museo Minero y Archivo Histórico.