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All Spain Sax Colony of Santa Eulalia

Colony of Santa Eulalia

An abandoned socialist utopia built in the late 19th century.

Sax, Spain

Added By
Perro Muchacho
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The theatre.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The theatre.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
Theatre stage (notice collapsed backstage).   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The Colony seen from the top of the hill.   Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez/CC BY-SA 3.0
The mansion itself, main entrance.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The entrance.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The entrance to the theatre.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
Theatre side view (notice the holes meant to improve the acoustics.)   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
Sept 2019 much of area fenced off   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
The mansion as depicted in the walls of the theatre.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the mansion.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
Tiles inside the mansion.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The noble’s coat of arms (three hearts impaled by a spear).   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The church’s tower as seen from the theatre.   Perro Muchacho / Atlas Obscura User
The shop of the colony   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
No longer legally accessible Sept 2019   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In 1886, Antonio de Padua y Saavedra, the count of Alcudia and Gestalgar, created a self-sufficient commune dubbed the Colony of Santa Eulalia. He based it on the Utopian Socialist movement in Europe, which had aimed to create autonomous towns as an alternative to the bigger cities they felt had been corrupted by the Industrial Revolution.

The colony, situated between the towns of Sax and Villena, operated completely self-sufficiently by growing, processing, and commercializing its own crops using an oil mill, flour factory, and alcohol factory. Besides a mansion for de Padua y Saavedra, who oversaw operations in the summer, Santa Eulalia featured housing for workers, many stores, a theater, a church, and a casino.

Thanks to its location on the railroad line from Madrid to Alicante, the colony enjoyed industrial notoriety until the 1930s, when the Spanish Civil War greatly affected its productivity. The town was almost entirely abandoned by 1940, but the mansion continued to host de Padua y Saavedra and his children into the 1960s, when the family couldn't afford to maintain the mansion anymore. The surrounding area is a popular destination for tourists, but the colony, once a functioning utopia, sits abrading with time.

Before the town was featured on the local TV show called l’Alquería Blanca, many people were unaware of the history of Santa Eulalia. The program sparked interest in its conservation, and the local government officially declared it a "cultural interest” and promised a restoration program sometime in the future. There are a few restaurants and some houses where locals still live.

Update as of September 2019: Many of the previously accessible buildings have been taped or fenced off. However, the site is still worth a visit.

Related Tags

Factories Utopias Agriculture Industrial Commune

Community Contributors

Added By

Perro Muchacho

Edited By

Dr Alan P Newman, Michael Inscoe

  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • Michael Inscoe

Published

October 11, 2017

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Colony of Santa Eulalia
18 Plaza Sta. Eulalia
Sax
Spain
38.567939, -0.850541
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