Although now in the 21st century Olot’s economy revolves mainly around the agrifood industry, which is the area’s most prominent activity along with the chemical and metal sectors, Olot boasts an interesting and longstanding industrial past.
It begins in the Middle Ages with its drapery and tanning industries, which evolved into the calico and textile industries of the 18th century, before branching out to encompass the manufacturing of religious imagery in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Olot’s industrial heritage can be discovered by tracing the canals and locks of the River Fluvià. The advent of the steam engine enabled companies to move to the city centre, where we can still find remnants of this industrial past such as the former Cooperació Fabril (Manufacturing Cooperation), which is now a residential and leisure space – although a few chimneys have survived to bear material testament to Olot’s industrial past.
Olot is the Catalan capital of volcanoes. There are four of them dotted around the city, which was founded upon their very own unique volcanic soil.
Olot is a city brimming with art and creativity. The Olot School of Landscape Painting and Olot School of Art are benchmarks in the world of art and design, with a long-running history and great deal of prestige.
Modernism is a cultural, literary and artistic movement that emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and swept throughout the whole of Western society. In Catalonia, however, Modernism (or Modernisme in Catalan) became a broader movement that also came to encompass politics and the economy, giving rise to what is now known specifically as “Catalan Modernism”.