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One morning I walk into the office and I’m greeted with the words: Frieda, what do you know about Dénia? I think, sigh, scratch my head with my left paw (impressive, right? Try it yourselves, humans) and reel off my knowledge. Tourist town north of Alicante, beautiful castle, charming old streets, remnants of ancient cultures, perfect for hiking and cycling in nature, lots of festivals and... Then I’m interrupted: Great, but why don’t you flutter over to Dénia and show us the less-known sides of the city.
Once landed in Dénia, I go in search of museums. After all, the best place to learn what matters in a community. My eye falls on two very special museums. The first is a toy museum. My mind immediately drifts back to my days as a little flamingo chick. We used to make mud balls in the salt lake and pelt each other with them. Especially poor, slow little Fred Flamingo always got the worst of it. He carried a lot of mud in his feathers. But I digress. Off to the toy museum.
What I hear and see there is all new to me. From 1900 to 1960, Dénia was completely dominated by the toy industry. It was so vital for the local economy that there were as many as 40 toy factories, plus many small workshops. In the early years, toys were mainly made of metal. Later, when wooden toys took over, the industry exploded. Dénia’s toys became so popular that exports to faraway destinations boomed. The museum illustrates all this. Collections include cars, airplanes, sailboats, horse-drawn carriages, trucks, and trains. Most items, especially from the golden wooden period, are beautifully painted. Walking around, I feel like I’m back in my early years and wonder wistfully how little Fred would have reacted to all these toys.
Since the industry declined, Dénia shifted mainly to fishing and nowadays to tourism. But long before that, in the 19th century, many people in Dénia lived from the raisin industry. A large part of another museum is dedicated to this. The raisin and dried fruit trade was also an international success. Sadly, this came to an abrupt end when the phylloxera pest destroyed entire crops.
A bit wiser about the lesser-known side of Dénia, I flutter back to San Pedro del Pinatar.
