A journey through time
One of the Algarve’s most celebrated industrial heritage sites is reopening its doors after 16 years, with those behind the project describing the Museu da Cortiça (Cork Museum) in Silves as a rare “time capsule” that survived largely intact.
Located within the historic Fábrica do Inglês complex and acquired by Antrix and Carvoeiro Branco in 2025, the museum will begin reopening in stages throughout July, with public access to the museum starting on July 11. The reopening marks an important step in the revival of a site that once attracted tens of thousands of visitors and earned international recognition.
According to Jorge Custódio, one of Portugal’s leading specialists in industrial heritage and the coordinator of the museum’s original museology project, the institution was designed according to international standards from the outset and was ahead of its time when it opened in 1999.
Bilingual Portuguese-English interpretation and accessibility measures were incorporated from the beginning – still uncommon features in many Portuguese museums at the time.
Just two years later, it received the prestigious Luigi Micheletti Award, recognising it as one of Europe’s leading industrial museums.
Looking back, Custódio believes the museum has stood the test of time because it was conceived with future development in mind. Despite remaining closed since 2009, he says it has “not lost its capabilities”.
The museum’s return has been made possible following the acquisition of the Fábrica do Inglês complex by Dutch businessman Erik De Vlieger through his companies Antrix and Carvoeiro Branco.
Now based in neighbouring Lagoa, De Vlieger spent years trying to acquire the neglected property after becoming increasingly frustrated by its condition.
He admits he became “really angry” whenever he passed the abandoned complex, which had once been one of the Algarve’s most distinctive heritage attractions. When he first approached Silves council with the idea of purchasing the site, the reaction was sceptical. “Of course they didn’t believe us. What idiot would do that?”, he jokes, referring to the scale of the restoration challenge.
Although De Vlieger is candid about the commercial ambitions behind the project, he insists the museum is central to the future of the complex.
“I’m not a philanthropist. I want to make a profit and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he says. However, before any commercial-focused development moves forward, he insists “the Cork Museum has to open”.
His long-term vision includes a hotel, residential units and the rehabilitation of several historic buildings within the former factory complex, including the iconic Tea House, which suffered extensive deterioration during years of neglect.
De Vlieger admits the scale of the damage was worse than he had anticipated, particularly in the Tea House. Describing parts of the complex as “unbelievable”, he estimates that repairs to the Tea House roof alone will exceed €150,000.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the project has been the condition of the museum itself. After finally completing the purchase, De Vlieger’s first surprise was discovering there were no keys to the building.
“We took a crowbar and went in,” he recalled, describing how he entered the property with his wife and friends, unsure what they would find after years of abandonment.
Inside, they discovered something unexpected. Newspapers still lay where they had been left when the museum closed in 2009, whilst displays, artefacts and exhibition spaces remained largely intact.
“I almost cried,” De Vlieger said. “I thought it was going to be a huge job. We were very happy that it wasn’t a disaster.”
Meanwhile, Custódio recently completed a detailed inventory of the collection, comparing existing records with the objects still housed in the museum. The result, he said, was unexpectedly positive: there had been “no significant losses”.
The findings reinforce the idea that the museum survived as a kind of time capsule whilst other parts of the Fábrica do Inglês complex suffered years of deterioration, vandalism and theft.
According to Custódio, the museum escaped the worst of the damage partly because its collections held little value for scrap-metal thieves and partly because local authorities recognised its heritage significance and sought to prevent its disappearance.
Whilst visitors will once again be able to explore the museum this summer, restoration work continues behind the scenes.
Plans include updated visitor information, educational and cultural activity spaces, improvements to exhibition interpretation and infrastructure upgrades, including new LED lighting and climate-control systems.
Free entry during summer
Custódio rejects the notion that private ownership diminishes the museum’s public value. Many important museums, he notes, operate under private ownership whilst remaining accessible to the public.
What matters is the role they play within society and the values they promote. Future plans include guided tours, themed visits, educational initiatives and cultural programming aimed at reconnecting local communities and visitors with the region’s industrial past.
To encourage public engagement, admission will be free throughout July, August and September, although visitors will be required to register through a new website. Operating costs, including staffing, will be covered by the new owners.
For Custódio, the reopening restores a place that became part of the Algarve’s collective memory. In 2001 alone, the museum welcomed around 100,000 visitors and introduced generations of residents, schoolchildren and tourists to the history of cork production and industrial development in southern Portugal. “This museum marked a generation,” he says, reflecting on the thousands of people who visited over the years. That connection, he believes, never disappeared despite the the years of closure.
As restoration work continues, Custódio argues that reopening the doors is only the first step. The challenge now is to rebuild the relationship between the museum and its public through new activities, educational programmes and community engagement. “A museum without visitors is an incomplete museum,” he says.
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