The Wool Museum of the University of Beira Interior was established in 1989 with the purpose of safeguarding the dyeing area of the Royal Fabrics Factory, a State manufacture founded by the Marquis of Pombal in 1764.
Always with the motto “the threads of the past weaving the future”, this museum’s mission is the active conservation of the textile industrial heritage and the research and dissemination of technologies associated with the process of industrializing wool in the Beira Interior territory, which aims to Serra da Estrela head office and Covilhã by historical center.
Through the uniqueness, authenticity and exemplarity of the testimonies preserved at the Wool Museum, it is possible to get to know one of the oldest industries, the wool industry, which began to assert itself as a pure act of survival of the human species and has been assuming, throughout the times, a growing quality and technical-artistic expression, which has accompanied the development of our societies until the present.
Currently, the Wool Museum is a polynucleated museum that integrates the following nuclei:
Classified as Property of Public Interest , the old Pombaline dyes reconstitute the manufacturing processes of the manufacture and dyeing of the most used wool fabrics in Portugal, at the end of the century XVIII.
Address – Rua Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, Covilhã
Outdoor core, consisting of a set of sun strips used for drying and drawing wool fabrics outdoors, after passing through washers, floors or dyes, and a drying rack to spread and dry the wool in the sun, after washing.
Address: Estrada do Sineiro, Covilhã
Real Fábrica Veiga / Wool Interpretation Center
Real Fábrica Veiga was the headquarters of a wool company founded in 1764 in Covilhã by José Mendes Veiga from a dyeing workshop, located next to the Real Fábrica de Panos, of which a significant part of the primitive facades and some archaeological structures preserved in situ .
Through an important collection of machines, equipment and utensils, documents, raw materials and textile products, we present the technological evolution that took place in wools in the 19th and 20th centuries. The theme of energy sources is also addressed, with emphasis on the hydraulic wheel and the steam engine.
This center also houses the Documentation Center / Historical Archives of Wool and asserts itself as an interpretation center of the peninsular tourist route Rota da Lã-TRANSLANA .
Address: Calçada do Biribau, Covilhã
Through the Rota da Lã-TRANSLANA , the Wool Museum calls for a new look at the field evidence associated with the laneira culture in Beira interior territory. With wool as the guiding thread, it proposes cultural routes through industrial heritage, through transhumance routes and following the peninsular itinerary.
On the first Sunday of each month, between 2:30 pm and 6 pm, admission is free for all visitors.
