Llano del Beal
Llano del Beal is a town in the municipality of Cartagena in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in Spain.
Physical geography
Location
Located to the east of the municipality of Cartagena, a city 14 kilometers away.Part of the Sierra Minera de Cartagena-La Unión extends through this town.
Through El Llano del Beal and San Ginés de la Jara passes the rambla of El Beal, which flows north of the Arenal Beach in Los Nietos near the salt marsh of Lo Poyo, which carries spills of heavy metals from the old mining activity.
History
The village was born in the last years of the 19th century to house workers who worked in the mines of galena and other metals.At the foot of the mining mountain range, it is located on a plain called El Llano.
Its first inhabitants were mostly mine workers. They came from the nearby countryside and also from the province of Almería.
Historically the basis of its economic activity was mining, which caused a strong labor conflict mainly due to the harsh working conditions, such as the strike of 1898 and the events of Descargador in 1916.
As a witness of its working class past, the Casa del Pueblo was inaugurated in 1916 by the Sociedad Nueva España, which later became part of the UGT union. At the end of the civil war and the establishment of Franco's dictatorship, the building was requisitioned, its name was changed to Hogar del Productor and after the death of the dictator, it was returned to the union.
There is also a modernist style building, the Casino, which shows the past economic splendor.
Since 1927 the mining activity suffered a strong crisis that produced a massive exodus of the population caused by the decline of mining activity and when in 1957 began the open pit mining of the Sociedad Minera y Metalúrgica de Peñarroya with its aggressive activity caused the reaction of the inhabitants by endangering their homes. From 1988 onwards, the company Portmán Golf S.A. became the owner, and the confrontations became so intense that the activity was put to an end. The company offered the construction of a new village but the neighbors stood guard night and day in shifts so that the mining activity did not approach the village and for this they built a hut that, remodeled, remains as a reminder of their struggle.
Years after the end of the mining activity, heavy metal contamination was produced, affecting the health of their neighbors.
Human geography
Territorial organization
The municipal district of Cartagena is divided into collective entities of population there called [Districts of Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena, Spain|diputaciones]. Llano del Beal belongs to the deputation of El Beal and is a singular population entity or pedanía of the municipality.Demographics
The total population is 1,337 inhabitants in 2021.The evolution of the population maintains a regressive tendency.
Economy
Although the location has a mining origin, at present this sector is inactive and the economy is based on the services of the tourist sector, construction and industry, with agriculture being insignificant.Facilities and services
- OMITA.
- Social center.
- Public school San Ginés de la Jara.
- Medical office
- PharmacyCasa del pueblo.
- Deportiva Minera soccer club based in the Angel Celdran Stadium.
- Cemetery, located near the monastery of San Ginés de la Jara.