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La Unión Today

La Unión Tourist Information

La Unión is a municipality of around 19,000 inhabitants enclosed by the municipality of Cartagena on all sides except the south, where it borders the Mediterranean sea and forms part of the Comarca del Mar Menor.

The most outstanding feature of the municipality is both historical and geographical: the mines, their exploitation the focal point around which the History of La Unión revolves.

La Unión For over 2000 years the mines of the Sierra Minera, which stretches from Cartagena to Cabo de Palos, were exploited for their reserves of minerals. The Romans tunnelled deep into the hillsides 2000 years ago, and the process ended with open cast mining gouging the landscape, millions of tons of waste material dumped into Portmán bay and in the area surrounding the town. In 1991 the mines finally closed when there were too few La Unión minerals left to make continued activity economically viable.However, the waste left behind by open-cast mining has left a distinctive landscape, scarred with slag heaps and abandoned mineworkings.

To exploit the tourist potential of the mines the Parque Minero, a mining park has been built, with the imposing Mina Agrupa Vicenta at its heart, and the town has also opened a Mining Museum, the Matildes Mine and a flamenco museum.

Further plans exist to increase the tourism potential of Portmán Bay through regenerating the bay into which millions of tons of sterile wasters were dumped, building a new marina and further residential accommodation.

The Cante de las Minas is the other important attraction of La Unión, the most prestigious celebration and competition relating to Flamenco in Spain, filling the historic old marketplace, the Catedral del Cante with flamenco every summer. Parallel to this, the town is also developing its potential with the addition of a flamenco school, and regular flamenco performances in the mine itself.

Where is La Unión?

La Unión is just a half hour drive from the regional airport at San Javier and is accessed via local rail and main road connections laong the shores of the Mar Menor and via Cartagena.

Click for map, La Unión

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LA UNIÓN

2021 Cante de las Minas flamenco festival to go ahead in La Unión July 29 to August 7 Audiences return to the event from July 29 to August 7 after the 2021 event took place online The 2020 edition of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas de La Unión flamenco festival was forced to take place exclusively online due.. 30/04/2021

Weekly street market in La Unión Tuesday is market day in the Calle Mayor in La Unión For many expats and visitors, one of the great joys of shopping in Spain is the opportunity to buy fresh products and bargain clothes in the weekly local markets, which are awash with colour..

Weekly markets in the municipality of Cartagena Year-round and summer-only street markets in Cartagena Not all weekly markets are set in stone, and if they coincide with public holidays they may be cancelled or postponed. In addition, days can change, so if you're not sure a call to the relevant..

Introduction to the beaches of La Unión The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are attractive in their own right and are very popular..

La Unión beaches: Playa LastreA charming wild beach with popular bar and small port The La Unión municipality has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..

La Unión beaches: Playa de PortmánA wide curving bay popular with fishermen The municipality of La Unión has two beaches, Playa Lastre and Playa de Portmán, both of which are on the Mediterranean coast and both in the urban area of Portmán. Although both are..

Train services Los Nietos - La Unión - Cartagena The journey between Los Nietos and Cartagena takes around 30 minutes The main railway station of Los Nietos marks the eastern end of the local FEVE line which runs between Cartagena and the Mar Menor, with approximately 15 services per day running in..

Introduction to Portmán Portmán is a pedanía of the La Unión municipality Portmán is without any doubt one of the most surprising places in the Region of Murcia and the Costa Cálida and lies within the municipality of La Unión...

The history of Portmán Portmán was a natural harbour at the service of the mining industry which eventually ruined it What is now the village of Portmán in the administrative district of La Unión lies in a natural sheltered harbor at the foot of one of the..

Hospital de la Caridad archaeological museum in Portmán Museo Arqueológico de Portmán A former mining hospital is now home to the archaeological discoveries made in Portmán The building in which the archaeological museum of Portmán is now housed was founded as a hospital in..

Consultorio Roche, Roche surgery The larger health centre is in La Unión Portmán is a pedanía of La Unión and is serviced by a larger health centre in La Unión itself, which offers longer consultancy hours than this smaller satellite centre. Residents.. 31/12/2014

Consultorio Portmán, Portmán surgery The larger health centre is in La Unión Portmán is a pedanía of La Unión and is serviced by a larger health centre in La Unión itself, which offers longer consultancy hours than this smaller satellite centre. Residents..

La casa del Tío Lobo in Portmán Designed by Victor Beltrí for Miguel Zapata Sáez By far the most imposing and historic residential building in Portmán is known as the “Casa Zapata” or “Casa del Tío Lobo”, a palatial Modernist residence.. 31/12/2014

The ecological disaster of Portmán bay Millions of tons of mining waste were dumped in the bay by Peñarroya Although there were undoubtedly prehistoric inhabitants of this area of Murcia, the real history of Portmán dates back 2,000 years to the Roman occupation. Thousands of..

Lavadero Roberto in Portmán A brooding monument to the industrial greed which destroyed the bay of Portmán The Lavadero Roberto in the town of Portmán, on the coast of the municipality of La Unión, was a mineral extraction and washing facility which in its day..

La Unión Fiestas La Unión honours the Virgen del Rosario and Saint Barbara La Unión Fiestas patronales Local fiestas patronales in La Unión are dedicated to the Virgen del Rosario and generally take place between the 4th and 12th October, which means..