Fornells-Made Dynamite

That any piece of beach real estate would come at a premium doesn't surprise anyone anymore, least of all the seasoned and well-travelled beachgoers. The way today's precious real estate used to be occupied is a different matter entirely — and some stories may amaze you. The proximity to fishing ports, warehouses, and goods exchanges is natural, but how about a dynamite factory? That's exactly what transpired in 1870 right next to the cozy coves of the beach town Fornells in the Costa Brava.

Alfred Nobel had patented dynamite only three years prior, and no one in Spain had the time to start dealing with it yet. The potential for the explosive demand in the mountaineering and military sectors had looked up to be limitless, and the French entrepreneur behind the Fornells factory was seemingly set for success.

The factory, however, closed down not even a year later. The Spanish market was not immediately taken with the new product, while imports to France that had been utilizing dynamite extensively in its then-current conflict with Germany dried up soon after the defeat of Napoleon the Third.

To sum it up, the story of the short-lived dynamite production in the Costa Brava is clear, except for one thing: was it necessary to open the factory right next to the beach? We will never know.