/ Town Hall
Monday 26th April 2021
The Galatzó mills grind again
This heritage complex is working again thanks to the collaboration of the Consell and Calvià Town Hall
The President of the Consell de Mallorca, Catalina Cladera, the Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, the Vice President and Regional Minister for Culture, Heritage and Language Policy, Bel Busquets, and the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Ecological Transition, Rafel Sedano, have visited today the flour mills of the Galatzó public estate, which the insular institution has restored in collaboration with the Calvià consistory.
During the visit, the water from the water deposit has been opened so that, through the also restored waterwheel, it can reach the mill and make it work to grind grain and turn it into flour. Thus, attendees have been able to see the results of the work carried out by the Heritage brigade, both for the stonemasons section and the workshop, where part of the mill machinery has been recovered.
"It is a special day, because we have recovered a very valuable heritage from the emblematic Galatzó estate, but also because it coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Serra de Tramuntana declaration as a world heritage site", said President Cladera. «An estate in which, from the Consell, in collaboration with Calvià Town Hall, we have made an effort to recover, investigate and disseminate the hydraulic mills and, on the other hand, we have built the first refuge that we will find on the Pedra en Sec route».
In fact, the mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, wanted to highlight the investments that are being made in the estate, with the involvement of other public administrations such as the Consell, «important because they allow the recovery of natural and historical values, and, at the same time, to make known the richness of inner Calvià ».
The vice-president of the Consell and Councilwoman for Culture, Heritage and Language Policy, Bel Busquets, explained that it is the first time that a mill complex like this has been restored and stressed that it has been done with traditional materials and techniques with the aim that the result is as close as possible to the original. In addition, in the case of rebuilt machinery, the wood originally used in the construction of these mechanisms has also been respected.
Busquets added that, to disseminate both the work carried out and the importance of our heritage, information panels, in which the operation of the mills and also the restoration tasks are explained, a video and material to carry out guided tours for primary and ESO education schoolchildren, have been prepared.
The project consisted of the restoration of the mill complex and the machinery reconstruction of the mill below, in order to put it back into operation.
It is a whole set designed in such a way that the mills were supplied with water from the Font des Ratxó fountain, located within the municipality of Puigpunyent. The water was conducted to the mill wash house by a ditch, approximately 2 kilometres long. From the wash house, the water is led to the first mill press by an elevated channel. The water falls into this first mill and, through the ditch, is led to the second mill. The upper and lower machinery have been rebuilt, as well as the bench, made of almond wood.
Calvià Town Hall has taken charge of the materials and other expenses corresponding to the mills' restoration, while the Department of Culture, Heritage and Language Policy, through the Insular Directorate of Heritage, has taken over the restoration project and the direction and execution of the works. The cost of the restoration was 143.748 €, of which the Town Hall contributed 36.953 € and the Consell 106.795 €.
