Empresa Fabril do Norte

‘Empresa Fabril do Norte’ is an abandoned textile factory in Portugal. The factory was built in 1888 and closed its doors in 1994. Today, nature is taking over the site.

In 1885 the first mills form along a river in this Portuguese region. In 1888 company ‘Baerlein & C º’ from Manchester bought some ground to start this textile factory. The textile mill survived the economic crisis of 1891 and made fame in the following century. In March 1897 important changes were made. For example, the weaving section is expanded, 144 new looms are installed. This new section requires a steam machine and a new boiler.

A central corridor splits the weaving and spinning section inside the factory building. In 1936 the inventory was replaced by modern spinning machines.

The 1970s were difficult times for ‘Empresa Fabril do Norte’. Due to the changing economic and technical environment of the 1980s, it was the beginning of the end. As a result, the contracts of the employees in the weaving section were terminated in 1982, marking the closure of this sector. In 1988 a new company took over the remaining spinning section, trying to extend the life of the mill. The technical aging of the factory made it impossible to reconvert, it was closed in 1994.

The photos of ‘Empresa Fabril do Norte’ were taken in 2017. You can see more reports of abandoned textile factories around Europe here.