Portal de Turismo de Castilla y León

Dates

5 June to 30 December 2025

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Currently

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The Provincial Historical Archive of Salamanca documents the development of social housing in our province from the end of the Civil War to the arrival of democracy.

This time, information is provided on public housing development through state, provincial, and municipal agencies. Using funds from the National Housing Institute, the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Work for Homes), part of the Trade Union Organization, and the Civil Government, all preserved in the Archive, the exhibition showcases projects, plans, photographs, and other documents that reflect a need: to provide housing for the most disadvantaged classes.

The opening is scheduled for June 5th at 11:00 a.m. It will remain open until December 2025 and can be visited Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

POSTWAR SCENARIO.

At the end of the Spanish Civil War, a precarious economic outlook was compounded by the pressing need for housing for the working class. Added to this was the massive influx of rural populations into the cities. In Salamanca , the housing shortage was acute in those years, with substandard construction in suburban areas. It was therefore necessary to promote the construction of affordable housing for all, although the results would take several years.

THE TRADE UNION ORGANIZATION AND ITS ASSISTANCE WORK.

Following the enactment of the Trade Union Unity Law of 1940, the Spanish Trade Union Organization was entrusted with the role of welfare through its Trade Union Works. Through these, the Francoist state exercised paternalism toward the less fortunate social groups. Trade union works were established for colonization, cooperation, education and recreation, crafts, vocational training, social security, healthcare, unemployment relief, and housing. The latter would later be called the Trade Union Works of Home and Architecture.

THE NATIONAL HOUSING INSTITUTE.

In 1939, the National Housing Institute was established as the regulatory body for the low-income housing system. It reviewed and financed many of the affordable housing projects submitted to it, both public and private. It also established the National Housing Plans and promoted legislation regulating subsidized housing, always working hand in hand with the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Working for Homes).

THE HOME UNION WORK.

The Obra Sindical del Hogar y Arquitectura (Union Work of Home and Architecture) was established in 1939 to provide housing for the so-called middle- and working-class producers. It was responsible for promoting many of the housing projects financed by the National Housing Institute. During its early years, some projects could not be carried out due to a lack of resources and materials, but beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, it assumed all responsibility for promoting public housing.

SAN BERNADO NEIGHBORHOOD.

The Falange Parish Neighborhood, or Salas Pombo Neighborhood, was built on the grounds of the former San Bernardo Convent thanks to the City Council and the Provincial Council, with the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Home Work) being the institution responsible for its promotion. More than 900 homes were built in several phases, providing affordable housing for officials and other members of the union.

OUR LADY OF CARMEN NEIGHBORHOOD.

Within the Pizarrales neighborhood, which emerged in a completely irregular manner at the beginning of the 20th century, a group of housing projects were planned in the 1940s to try to remedy the area's unhealthiness. The City Council created a charitable trust, bearing the same name as the neighborhood, to promote its construction. This was done through personal contributions, that is, through the labor of future tenants or owners. The second phase had to be undertaken thanks to the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Home Workers' Association), since the trust was dissolved due to errors in financing and administration.

OUR LADY OF LA VEGA NEIGHBORHOOD.

The Civil Government, the City Council, and the Provincial Council collaborated with the National Housing Institute on the project to build a neighborhood of ultra-cheap housing for the less affluent. It was located south of the city, next to the Béjar highway. The College of Architects also participated selflessly, including Genaro de No, Joaquín Secall, Eduardo Lozano Lardet, Eusebio Calonge, and Francisco Gil in the project. Francisco Franco himself inaugurated the neighborhood in 1954.

SAN JOSÉ NEIGHBORHOOD.

Already in the 1960s, a new neighborhood was planned next to La Vega, also promoted by the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Home Work), on a site "facing the monumental skyline of Salamanca." More than a thousand homes were built in five phases, contributing to the city's southern expansion.

OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING GROUPS.

Some other neighborhoods in the city also emerged as a result of the promotion of public housing. This is the case of the Vidal neighborhood, promoted by the Salamanca City Council beginning in the 1940s, although it was not without controversy due to its poor construction. Already in the 1960s, a group of subsidized housing units was planned in the San Mateo neighborhood, in an area of ​​​​city expansion to the northeast. In addition to public development, other entities and companies attempted to alleviate the problem of housing shortage. This is the case of the group of housing for RENFE workers on Paseo de la Estación, promoted by the state-owned company itself, or the Mariano Rodríguez housing group on Avenida de Alemania, built at the initiative of the Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Salamanca.

SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE PROVINCE.

The housing shortage was also palpable throughout the province in the 1940s. The Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Work) promoted housing projects in several municipalities, including Béjar (four projects), Ciudad Rodrigo (another four projects), Fuentes de Béjar, Guijuelo, Lumbrales, Peñaranda, and Sancti Spiritus, among others.

ARCHITECTS.

Prominent architects participated in the social and subsidized housing projects built in Salamanca between the 1940s and 1960s. Joaquín Secall was involved in the Mariano Rodríguez Group and in the Barrio de la Vega. Genaro de No also signed the project for the Barrio de la Vega. Eduardo Lozano Lardet was involved in the projects for the Barrios de San Bernardo and la Vega. Francisco de Asís Cabrero Torres-Quevedo designed the Barrio de Vidal as well as those for the Virgen del Castañar housing groups in Béjar and San Leandro in Fuentes de Béjar. Fernando Población del Castillo led many of the projects carried out by the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Work of the Home): Barrio del Carmen, Barrio de San Bernardo (from the second phase onwards), Barrio de San Mateo, and Barrio de San José, in addition to many others in the province. Eusebio Calonge Francés and Ricardo Pérez Fernández also participated in projects for the Obra Sindical del Hogar (Union Work of the Home).