The Museum

The machine tool museum is a new concept of museum. In this “living” museum the most typical machine tools that were  revolutionary in their day such as parallel lathes, milling machines, drills, planers, etc., are on display while in operation,  giving an accurate recreation of the atmosphere of a machining workshop in the mid-19th century in the area.

It is a unique museum set against the backdrop of the Basque industrial reality showing the origins of the most  representative industrial sector in the region, the machine tool sector, the driving force behind new technology.

Elgoibar has been known for its industrial tradition since ancient times, as the book “Elgoibar, from Iron Works to Machine Tools” (1996) written by the priest from Elgoibar, Luis Mari Ecenarro Osoro, attests. The town is one of the country’s internationally renowned leading producer of machine tools.

To honour our industrial heritage, as well as the men and women who lived and played a leading role in it, the Machine Tool Museum opened its doors on December the 16th in 1998.