The Demons' Mill, the unique underground jewel in Mallorca that demands royal protection: "They prefer to see it destroyed"

PalmLocated on the land adjacent to the Royal Monastery, the Demons' Mill is one of Mallorca's most significant hydraulic engineering works. Unlike the watermills typically used for grinding grain, which were usually built taking advantage of the terrain's topography, this one was constructed entirely by hand. Now, the current owners of this engineering marvel, led by Antoni Aguiló, are taking steps to promote its complete restoration and lament the lack of interest from the authorities.

It was commissioned by Guillem Baster, a Catalan nobleman who supported James I in the conquest of Mallorca and, in return, was granted ownership of the water rights of Canet and Esporles.BuñolinoandPuigpunyentThe peculiarity of the Demons mill lies in the fact that its construction was carried out on a completely flat ground, so Baster had a pit dug twelve meters underground and wide enough so that the water that came from his irrigation ditch (from Esporles), would fall forcefully on one or both of the flour mills.

The structure has two wine presses (reservoirs) with a gate to the irrigation channel, allowing the water to be opened or closed as needed. At this point, the water was collected so that it could then fall forcefully onto the rollers, which could be used together or individually, closing the access with a lever. The roller then turned the millstones, crushing the wheat, which fell into another press where the flour accumulated. Once the water had done its job of crushing the grain, it was returned to the irrigation channel at ground level. That is, it gradually rose twelve meters back to the original path, a few meters later through the quenado. The mill operated continuously until 1926, according to the owner.

The survival of the mill depends on the will of the owner.

However, despite the unique nature of the building, which dates back to 1247, the current owner, Antoni Aguiló, laments the inaction of the authorities regarding the preservation of the mill and the miller's house, an architectural ensemble of great heritage value that enjoys the protection of the Baster irrigation channel. In this regard, Aguiló regrets that the authorities have done nothing but create obstacles, citing the protection of the architectural complex, which the owner considers inconsistent, since he believes that without any renovations, the mill would no longer exist today.

"I've taken advisors and CEOs to see the mill," laments Aguiló, even though no one has offered him any solution to his wish: to renovate the mill as little as possible to avoid its deterioration and eventual destruction. "I promised myself I wouldn't allow the mill to be seen lying in the ground while I'm alive," explains Antoni Aguiló, who almost two decades ago began an administrative odyssey, dealing with technicians, architects, and heritage officials, to obtain the necessary permit to renovate the buried part of the mill. It should be noted that until then, access to the mill was impossible, as part of the access road, which had been built as a wide track for a cart pulled by an animal to collect the flour, was partially collapsed, filled with rubble, manure, and graffiti on the walls, among other things.

Years after battling the Administration for permission, Antoni managed to make minimal renovations to the access and interior of the mill to halt the deterioration of the room that housed it, at his own expense, without any intervention from the Consell de Mallorca, the competent authority for the management and safeguarding of cultural heritage sites. "It's incomprehensible that, with the law on their side, they allow the complete deterioration of a mill built more than 700 years ago," laments Aguiló. "Either the law needs to be changed or it needs to be more flexible, but it's unacceptable that rather than protecting it, they seem to prefer to see it buried," he points out.

Another example of the inconsistencies the owner encountered is that when he managed to get the mill cleared of manure and minimally repaired to prevent its collapse, they still wouldn't let him install a barrier (which it didn't originally have), denounces Aguiló, who points out that they couldn't allow the mill to fall into such disrepair. Or even that the roof might collapse and cause a tragedy, "it makes no sense, but that's how the whole process has gone," he laments.

Now, after years of struggle, including the effort to rebuild the miller's house (located above the mill), Artigues, with the support of the architect in charge of the works, Lluís Moranta, has finally seen the mill's reconstruction and conservation project progress. The reconstruction of the miller's house is a meticulous and painstaking undertaking, as it has been carried out using the same stones that previously formed the walls and roof of the house. Moranta explains that the house will not have the same layout as before, but will instead occupy the area covered by the mill, since the aim is to cover the roof of the underground room to prevent water seepage or other external factors from damaging the flour mill's structure. The lack of institutional support meant that for years, people entered and damaged the structure, both the house itself, which they even set on fire, and the underground section. Aguiló walled up the entrances to both the mill and the miller's house to prevent unauthorized entry and damage to the Cultural Heritage Site, and also due to the risk of collapse. Even so, they managed to break in again, so the owner, tired of requesting government assistance to renovate and prevent further deterioration, decided to demolish the house, keeping the original stones in case he could one day obtain permission from the authorities to proceed with the reconstruction and renovation of the architectural complex, preserving all the original materials.

Acquired by the Aguiló family after the Liberal Triennium

Antoni Aguiló's godfather acquired the property at a public auction in 1863 for 6,153 pounds and the obligation to lend 90 pounds to the Balearic Institute's census following the Mendizábal confiscation. At that time, the property consisted of a plot of land called the Molino de los Demonios (Mill of the Demons) with a rustic house and a watermill. An aqueduct ran through it from north to south, carrying water from the na Bastera irrigation ditch to the Real washhouse. The owner had the right to receive six hours of water every 15 days from the allotments purchased by the Provincial Council, and was also entitled to abstain from water use from December 25th to February 25th of each year, according to custom.