Refugi de la Ferreria del Vedat

The Refugi de la Ferreria del Vedat is a small historic building in Teià, in the Catalan comarca of Maresme, within the Parc de la Serralada Litoral. Originally a blacksmith's workshop (ferreria) serving the local stone-quarrying trade, it was recovered by volunteers of the ADF de Teià between 1998 and 1999 and converted into a mountain shelter. The building is a simple rectangular structure that once housed the forge where iron tools used by picapedrers (stonemasons) were repaired and sharpened — mainly the punxons and escarpes worn down by the hard local stone. The area saw intense stone-extraction activity; columns and voussoirs for many portals of Barcelona's Avinguda Diagonal were quarried here. Based on remains found on site, the original layout can be imagined: a large room held the obrador with the forge, anvil and quenching tub, while a small room served as pantry and store. The building, now owned by the Ajuntament de Teià (Teià Town Council), is always open and normally kept clean and tidy by the ADF de Teià. Permission from the ADF and the local police is required to use the fireplace or to eat and sleep there when visiting in a group. Inside there are benches and tables for 15 people and a fireplace; outside there is a picnic table for 8 people and a water tap (without sanitary guarantee) fed by the Mina del Vedat. It is a good spot to rest and enjoy the view over the riera de Teià. On a corner of the front façade, on the ground, are two rocks with many incisions — test blows made to check the temper of freshly sharpened metal tools. On the path behind the house, on the mountain side, is a narrow-entrance cave that was the powder magazine where explosives were stored. Access is from Teià at 299 m altitude, following the signposted El Vedat route, which starts at the end of the passeig de la riera de Teià, although it can be reached from other points.

The Refugi de la Ferreria del Vedat takes its name from its original function: a ferreria (blacksmith's workshop) in the Vedat area of Teià, in the Parc de la Serralada Litoral. The building is a simple rectangular structure that served the local stone-extraction industry. In the large room, the blacksmith heated iron in the forge until red-hot, shaped it with hammer blows on the anvil, and cooled it rapidly in a tub of water to temper it. The small room was used as a pantry and store. The area was the source of columns and voussoirs for many portals of Barcelona's Avinguda Diagonal, indicating a significant quarrying industry. The building was recovered by volunteers of the ADF de Teià between 1998 and 1999 and converted into a mountain shelter. It is now owned by the Ajuntament de Teià and is always open, normally kept clean and tidy by the ADF de Teià. Permission from the ADF and the local police is required to use the fireplace or to eat and sleep there when visiting in a group. Inside there are benches and tables for 15 people and a fireplace; outside there is a picnic table for 8 people and a water tap (without sanitary guarantee) fed by the Mina del Vedat. On a corner of the front façade, on the ground, are two rocks with many incisions — test blows made to check the temper of freshly sharpened metal tools. On the path behind the house, on the mountain side, is a narrow-entrance cave that was the powder magazine where explosives were stored. Access is from Teià at 299 m altitude, following the signposted El Vedat route, which starts at the end of the passeig de la riera de Teià, although it can be reached from other points.

• The building was recovered by volunteers of the ADF de Teià between 1998 and 1999 and converted into a mountain shelter.

A free, volunteer-maintained mountain shelter and heritage site within the Parc de la Serralada Litoral, owned by the Teià town council and cared for by the ADF de Teià.

1. 1Refugi de la Ferreria del Vedatwikidata.org
2. 2Refugi de la Ferreria del Vedatca.wikipedia.org