Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The wall commemorating 11,908 Jewish victims of the Shoah from Frankfurt.
Börneplatz Memorial
Entrance to the munitions area of the lower part of the bunker
Simserhof
Carlos Calderón Yruegas calls the villa his personal playground.
Villa Tabaiba
Apples and pears, Spitalfields Market.
Brick Lane Roundels
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Longwood House, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final years.
The Longwood House: Napoleon Bonaparte’s Beautiful Prison
8 minutes ago
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
1 day ago
Ivan the Terra Bus
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: Ivan the Terra Bus
2 days ago
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Cape Verde Boa Vista Ruins of Fabrica de Chave

Ruins of Fabrica de Chave

The old ceramics factory on Boa Vista shows the power drifting sand has to destroy buildings.

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

Added By
Alan Newman
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Ruins of Fabrica de Chave   Ximonic
Ruins of Fabrica de Chave   Ximonic
Ruins of Fabrica de Chave   Kojote
The old chimes seen from the new ceramics school.   Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
Ruins of Fabrica de Chave   Kojote
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Island of Boa Vista is blessed with an enormous amount of clay that was once the basis of an important industry. Said to have been established by the descendants of enslaved people who were taken to the island to act as goatherds. The Fabrica de Chaves was once the dominant ceramic factory on the island.

In the early 20th century, however, the industry collapsed. Once the buildings were no longer maintained they largely fell into ruins. It is said that this was, at least in part, due to the weight of drifting sand on the relatively weak roof structures. The sand dunes on the island are an important feature and the systems are very dynamic.

There is now little trace of the large dune which did the damage. The most obvious remaining structure is the large chimney, which can be seen from miles around. The first successful ceramics factory on the island after many years was designed as a training school to train potters.

Other smaller-scale ceramics workshops have now been established. From the top of a set of steps at the rear of the "school," leading to a rocky platform, one can look down to the coast and across the town cemetery and see the chimney of Fabrica de Chaves, forming a local landmark next to Chaves beach. 

Related Tags

Architecture History & Culture Ruins

Community Contributors

Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

Published

October 30, 2023

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Ruins of Fabrica de Chave
Rabil
Boa Vista
Cape Verde
16.130288, -22.905297

Nearby Places

Viana Desert

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Wreckage of M/S Cabo Santa Maria

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Curral Velho

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Boa Vista

Boa Vista

Cape Verde

Places 4

Nearby Places

Viana Desert

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Wreckage of M/S Cabo Santa Maria

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Curral Velho

Boa Vista, Cape Verde

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Boa Vista

Boa Vista

Cape Verde

Places 4

Related Places

  • Church of St. Sophia in Nessebar

    Nessebar, Bulgaria

    Hagia Sophia Church

    This fifth-century church is one of the oldest Christian sites in the Balkans.

  • Crawford Castle

    Crawford, Scotland

    Crawford Castle

    These crumbling ruins are all that's left of the ancestral home of Clan Crawford.

  • Falkenburg

    Detmold, Germany

    Falkenburg

    The ruins of a medieval castle that survived two sieges.

  • Looking down to where the central round keep would have been

    Eglinton, Scotland

    Eglinton Castle

    The ruins of a once-grand castle that played host to a tournament with 100,000 attendees.

  • Lagoinha Ruins

    Lagoinha, Brazil

    Lagoinha Ruins

    A place of enchantment where stories of the past seem to come to life.

  • Screening room and the adjoining encapsulated remainsn

    Madrid, Spain

    Puerta de la Sagra

    The oldest vestiges of Madrid found here, have been incorporated into this new museum.

  • Resti del Circo Romano

    Milan, Italy

    Ruins of the Circo Romano

    See what remains of a once grand ancient Roman circus.

  • Kilmacduagh, Co. Galway, Ireland

    Galway, Ireland

    Kilmacduagh Monastic Settlement

    The ruins of a monastery that dates to the 7th century.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.