The Viladomiu Vell settlement is located about one kilometre south of Cal Bassacs. It is a colony built parallel to the river, from north to south, and at the entrance to the colony we find the church on one side (together with some annexe buildings) and on the other side, the owners' tower, while a little further up is the director's chalet. Thus, firstly, the most emblematic spaces of symbolic power, the church and the tower, then the central part destined for the workers' dwellings, and in the final part, the industrial zone, the factory. The dwellings are distributed in three rows of parallel blocks that make up the urban space, streets and squares; thus, in the upper street, the westernmost one, there are two blocks arranged in a row, one next to the other. Broadly speaking, these are buildings with an elongated rectangular ground plan, consisting of three storeys (ground floor and two upper floors) and a semi-basement floor accessible from the street below, as the ground is slightly uneven, and these are basically used as garages. The main façade that opens onto calle de Puig Sacalm is the characteristic gallery façade, made up of three rows or open gallery streets with openings of segmental arches supported on pillars. On this façade we find the entrances to the ground floors and the stairwells leading to the upper floors. Three of the lateral façades of these blocks remain without cladding, allowing us to see the stone walls with solid brick reinforcement in the corners and in the framing of the openings, in the case of the northernmost block, which also forms a decorative plasterwork. In this same block, we can see the openings of the southern lateral façade at ground floor level, with the openings framed in stone ashlars. The other blocks, one on the central street or row and two on the street below, also placed one next to the other, are also elongated rectangular in plan, with three storeys (ground floor and two storeys) and a gable roof of Arabic tile with an eave decorated with a geometric combination made of solid brick. The walls show the ground floor made of stone ashlars and the rest with the surface rendered and painted. The openings in the main and side façades are straight-cut and regularly distributed; the access portals to the interior staircases all open onto Puig Llançada street; the rear façades (in the westernmost block on the west and the easternmost blocks open onto the river to the east) have openings leading to balcony galleries, most of which have now been modified and closed off. The block of flats on the east side facing the church has an inverted L-shaped plan, with a volume facing the church that housed the schools and community spaces. Between the two we find the main square of the colony, the church square. Delimited between the three rows of blocks and at the southern end by the access to the factory, there is another square - Puig Sacalm street, the street above, which is like a promenade, with benches and plane trees.

The Viladomiu Vell colony was founded by Tomàs Viladomiu Bertran, a member of a lineage linked to the spinning and weaving industry since ancient times. The origins of the family are documented from the beginning of the 16th century in Vilada, from where they moved to Berga. Over the years, there are numerous reports documenting the Viladomiu family's relationship with textile manufacturing, showing the evolution and growth of their business by adapting to the new demands and needs of each period. Tomàs Viladomiu's father moved to Sallent when he married Antònia Bertran, from the Cal Rei house, a town where he would continue to work in the wire and fabric business, and where the founder of the Viladomiu colonies was born, who would continue the family's business trajectory. Tomàs Viladomiu Bertran decided to set up a factory and colony up the Llobregat river, seeing the possibilities offered by the area, which was still scarcely industrialised. The chosen location was the land at Plana de Santa Marc, which he bought from the Feliu brothers. The history of the colony of Viladomiu began in 1868 with the application for the use of water to build a factory. Work began with the construction of the first building, the lock and canal, and the first buildings to house the workers. Subsequently, the colony would grow and incorporate elements, the church (1885), the wall, the tower (1910), the schools, extending the blocks of flats, enlarging the factory, etc. Once production had started (1871), the company ‘Viladomiu e Hijos’ bought and began the process of building a new colony on land further south of Viladomiu Vell. In this case, the land was bought from the same family, the plot where the new project was to be built was called the Llave de San Marcos, the names of the land would be used while both colonies were under the same company. From 1896, Tomàs Viladomiu's sons split the inheritance and each colony, Viladomiu Vell and Viladomiu Nou, were managed by different companies. In 1882 the company obtained the status of agricultural and industrial colony, which allowed it to benefit from certain tax exemptions. From the foundation of the Viladomiu Nou colony until 1989 it was managed by different companies linked to the Viladomiu family.
The management of the colony and factory of Viladomiu Nou was done through different companies, as they changed over the years - 1869-1887: Viladomiu and Sons, 1888-1896: Viladomiu Sons, from this point onwards each Viladomiu colony undertook its own business path, 1896-1906: José Viladomiu Montañá, 1907-1927: José and Jacinto Viladomiu; 1928-1934: José Viladomiu Senmartí; 1934-1989: Manufacturas Viladomiu S. A.

The Colonia Viladomiu Vell is included in the ‘Plan director urbanístico de las colonias industriales del Llobregat’; the municipality of Gironella is included in the Pla together with the municipalities of Avià, Balsareny, Berga, Casserres, Gaià, Navàs, Olvan and Puig-reig (DOGC no. 4940 published on 03/08/2007).
At the southern end of the complex is the industrial area, the factory, with access through a large open doorway in the perimeter wall delimiting the factory space; in the access area there are some buildings built in the 20th century, including offices, the weighbridge, etc. The main feature of the production complex is the large central nave with an elongated rectangular floor plan, three levels of openings and a gable roof made of Arabic tile. Surrounding it are other halls and buildings, several of the structures attached to the central nave, with different volumes and finishes, being buildings of different functionalities and chronologies. On the north side of the complex there was the chimney of the steam engine, which no longer exists. Parallel to the river and the colony runs the canal that carries the water from the lock, located a few metres upstream, to the factory. The orchard area around the canal is also worth mentioning. A few metres from the owner's tower there is also the director's chalet – a four-storey house attached to the land on the west side, with a ground floor, first floor and ground floor-roof. On the first floor, there is a balcony-like gallery that continues on the roof and a ground floor level that develops on the roof itself, showing only lateral façades between the different roof planes. The roof is made of flat ceramic tiles with eaves supported by wooden beam heads.

The Viladomiu Vell Textile Colony was founded in 1868 by Tomàs Viladomiu i Bertran, an industrialist from Sallent, at the foot of the Llobregat River (km 34 of the regional road from Manresa to Berga). It was one of the first textile industries organised under the colony system.

Work began on the Viladomiu Vell factory in 1868 and it was put into operation in 1871. In 1882, it obtained the status of agricultural and industrial colony and benefited from the tax exemptions granted by law. The church was blessed in 1885, the owners' tower was inaugurated in 1910 and in 1897 the turbines were renovated.

The Viladomiu family was involved in the construction of large textile factories (Viladomiu Vell, Viladomiu Nou, El Guixaró and later Cal Marsal) on the upper Llobregat axis. With the combined production of yarn and fabrics, the colony grew around the factory with a series of parallel streets and a square, centred by the church and the tower.

After overcoming the continuous crises of recent years, Viladomiu Vell continues to maintain its colony structure, although the original paternalism has been lost, the awareness of a distinct entity is maintained in the head of the municipality, Gironella, as well as leisure activities.