Windmills in Mallorca
Windmills in Mallorca – what is worth knowing? The most famous region in Mallorca where there are a lot of windmills is the “PLA” region. Pla is a Catalan name, but in Castilian we find this region under the name “Llano de Mallorca”. In that region, many years ago, the inhabitants were very much involved in agriculture, livestock and all activities related to the cultivation of the land. In this region, besides the windmills, you can also find many other constructions for farming, resource exploitation and utilization.
Windmills can also be found on the other islands of the Balearic archipelago.
The purpose of the windmills was to produce energy and food for the islanders. Nowadays they only serve to decorate the landscape and are also a historical element of the islands. Windmills were already built in Talayotic villages. You can find a lot of them in the Balearic Islands. In the beginning windmills were used, then windmills were developed. The first of them date back to 1262! They are about 8 metres high. Later there were also water windmills, of which there were more than 4000 on Mallorca. This is a really huge number. They appeared only in the 19th century.
There are currently about 2,500 windmills in Mallorca.
The largest number is, of course, in the “Pla” region, there are more than 650. Many mills are unfortunately poorly preserved. Nevertheless, we can also find restored windmills. It is also worth mentioning the “Jonquet” district in the capital of Majorca – Palma. There are several such “molinos”, which are of great cultural importance. They are located between the tenement houses, on a busy street, which gives a really interesting view.
A windmill rut in Mallorca.
On this page (Tib mallorca) you can find the whole windmill route, in Spanish: https://www.tib.org/es/web/ctm/turisme/-/itinerari/h404-ruta-moli-del-pla
Some of the windmills are really worth a visit. For example, in Algaida there is the Molí d’en Xina in Ribera Street, which was restored in 1979.
In Ses Alqueries in the municipality of Santa Eugènia, there are the mills of Son Pau and can Joan, all restored and in good condition.
In Lloret there is the mill d’en Nina. Without leaving the city center, it is worth walking around the Es Molins area, where you will see den Poleo and den Beato.
There are also a couple of notable mills in Sineu – d’en Pep Gomila, on the Lloret de Vistalegre road, or d’en Pau, on the road connecting to Santa Margalida. The mill there has been converted into a restaurant! It really makes a mega impression, typical Majorcan atmosphere.
Windmills in Mallorca – how did it all start?
When it comes to windmills that draw water, by means of wind power, it all started in the first half of the 19th century. The Dutch engineer Paul Bouvij was in charge of draining the Pla region at that time. The windmills were built to make the work faster and easier. Many of the mills were designed by the carpenter Damià Reixac.
Talayot – what are talayot villages?
Talayot (from Catalan ṭalaiot, “little watchtower”) is a prehistoric turbine structure on the islands of Menorca and Mallorca. As these prehistoric monuments are most numerous on the islands, this explored stage of Balearic prehistory has been named Talayot.
In both shape and location, these monuments look like watchtowers or defensive towers. Its construction technique, based on large stones set “dry”, without cement or mortar, is now called the “Cyclopean technique”. It refers to the Mycenaean structures of ancient Greece (source: Wikipedia).
Where can you visit prehistoric villages?
I myself lived for some time in the north-east of the island. There, the remains of thalayotic villages can be found for example in the town of Sa Coma (in front of the hotel Mariant) or also a little further in the natural park Mondrago. Other ruins can be seen, for example, in the regions: Arta, Llucmajor, Alcudia, Calvia, Montuiri
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