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The history of El Molinar

History of El Molinar
The history of El Molinar! Read here about the development of El Molinar since 1639 until today ...
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Are you interested in the history of El Molinar? The oldest references go back to the 16th century!

Portixol is a district of El Molinar

Would you have thought that? Es Portixol was then a district of El Molinar! The others were called: Can Pere Antoni, Ses Figueres Baixes, El Segundo Molinar and Es Rotlet.

The name of this district, El Molinar, comes from the mills, of which there were up to 28. The first written records of these mills date back to the 17th century.

History of El Molinar - Windmills
El Molinar 1920

The oldest neighbourhood in Molinar is El Portixol, which is mentioned in writings dating back to 1639; in those years, El Portixol was a market garden off the beach where vegetables and cereals were grown to supplement the diet of the neighbourhood's first inhabitants, mainly fishermen.

little history of el Molinar
Fishermen drying their nets in Palma 1930

El Molinar delivers power!

El Molinar is a neighborhood with a great seafaring tradition that continues today, but we must also remember its industrial past. On February 4, 1859, the first gas factory in Mallorca was inaugurated in the area of Can Pere Antoni, 20 years later Pere Salas founded the oil refinery Sa Petrolera in El Portixol, and in 1903 the company Ahlemeyer inaugurated the first power plant in the area of Can Pere Antoni. The Electricity Company of Palma (Compañía de Electricidad, S.A.) merged with the Ahlemeyer company and continued producing energy.

History of El Molinar - 1
Palma Electricity Plant

In 1918, the Compañía Mallorquina de Electricidad opened the second power plant near Es Portixol and in 1921 the third power plant was inaugurated between the gas factory and the first power plant.

History of El Molinar - Construction Electricity Plant
July 19, 1902 Construction of the electric power station of the mill with its mills behind. The photo is in AD.

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, leather tanning, the most important industrial activity in the region, gradually gave way to more advanced industries such as oil refineries, power plants, soap factories, and the production of oils, carob bean sugar, paper and cardboard, and perfumes.


The improvement in economic and living conditions brought about by the industrialisation of the area encouraged the inhabitants to join together in clubs such as the Club Marítimo del Molinar de Levante in 1917 and the Club Nautic Portixol in 1928, both of which are still active today.


On 14 August 1920, the tramway was inaugurated, connecting Palma with El Molinar, which gave an additional boost to the region's economy.

History of El Molinar - Tramways
Tramway in Palma 1920

In the first decades of the 20th century, the tram was the most important means of transport in Palma. Various lines connected the centre of Palma with the districts of Porto Pi, Establiments, El Molinar and Can Pastilla.


As economic conditions improved, a new social class emerged that valued El Molinar above all as a recreational area and came from Palma to spend weekends in the popular neighbourhood.

History of El Molinar - Tramways
And here you can see well the high frequency of streetcars

Since the beginning of the 20th century, El Molinar has been a neighbourhood particularly appreciated by the inhabitants of Palma for their leisure activities. Its location near Palma, its welcoming atmosphere and, above all, the light of its sunsets continued to enchant all those who walked through its streets or along its beach in the mid-20th century, when tourism developed, This attraction has also spread to foreign visitors, resulting in a mixture of cultures that can be seen and smelled in its restaurants and bars.

History of El Molinar - 2
The bay of Portixol around 1920 (Source: Archive Reus, posted by Lorenzo Miró)

If you look at the center of the photo, you can see the Oratory de la Mare de Déu del Remei of 1885. From 1890, this oratory became a rectory of the parish of Santa Eulalia in Palma. When the new church was inaugurated in 1928, the building in Portixol was abandoned for a long time until the 60s, when the bishop sold the property. Since then it is a private house, of which only the round window of the facade reminds of the former building. The fans among you will know, the facade is painted red today.

By the way, we have our office only a few houses away. Visit us and enjoy the special atmosphere of this beautiful bay!


I would like to thank my colleagues at Fotos Antiguas de Mallorca for kindly providing the photos for this publication.


Álvaro Martínez Álvarez

Further links:

Mallorca's best locations

Portixol

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