Past and present

Discover how history and current life coexist between streets, walls and memories

Binissalem: a town with a memory

Binissalem proudly preserves the living memory of a town that has grown up among centuries-old stones, streets full of history and corners that speak of a rich and diverse past. This section is a visual and emotional journey through the municipality, where old photographs and texts allow us to rediscover the spaces that are part of our collective heritage. Between memory and the present, Binissalem is shown as it is: a town rooted in its past, but alive and in constant transformation.

Carrer des Reg

Photograph taken, it is said, on a wedding day, when the guests were going to the church of Cals Agustins, all prepared for such a memorable day. It belongs to the carrer des Reg, at the confluence with the street now called Llorenç Moyà and the carrer Dr. Jaume Terrassa .

Carrer des Reg served as a drainage point for much of the water from the northern part of the town. In those days, before the existence of a sewage system, residents had to dodge the water as best they could. The small bridge observed in the photo is a testament to this. The streets were not yet paved.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines

-Oral Sources.

Es Pontarró

Who among the middle-aged does not remember the floods and the headaches they caused, necessitating the removal of water by the bucketful from inside the houses during the time it existed? Almost all the water from the northern part of the town converged here: el Pujol, carrer des Reg, the Plaça de l’Església, carrer de ses Roques, Concepció, part of Pere Estruch, etc. It is no surprise, therefore, that on autumn days, when the rain falls in earnest, the small square of Es Pontarró resembles a lake.

At that time, when there was no sewer system, they had to avoid the water as best they could. The Pontarró that we see in the photo is an example. Under it, a ditch opened that carried the water to the outskirts of the town. At that time, the Carrer des Pontarró was not yet open. The streets were not yet paved.

Near Pontarró the water course deposited sediments, it was a place that children used to play.

Es Pontarró, which featured a handrail and could be opened, also served as a ramp for unloading and reloading pigs from the trucks that were taken to the public weigh station, located nearby on carrer des Reg.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines

-Oral Sources.

Old wall enclosing the Rectory garden

The oldest reference to the wall surrounding the Rectory orchard is in a sketch of Binissalem attributed to Jeroni Berard at the end of the 18th century.

The wall that is currently preserved, restored in 2016, is an archaeological remains that has become fossilized, losing its original function of enclosing a vegetable garden.

-Tarongí Vilaseca, Ferran J.

Escola Graduada de Binissalem

Sa Graduada, the most symbolic place of education that has existed in Binissalem for many years, is a living testament to both its architectural character and its educational functionality. Built in the early years of the third decade of the 20th century, it remained uninterrupted in its training task until the early 80s, becoming, after its remodeling, a center for educational, cultural, and leisure activities.

This building is part of the school construction program initiated by the government of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930), a program directed in the Balearic Islands by the inspector of Primary Education Joan Capó, and under the direction of the architect Guillem Forteza Piña (1892-1943), who designed this building in 1928. It should be noted that this school was the heir to the old public school owned by the municipality, which is already recorded in documents from the 17th century.

Located in the old field of sa Mostra, an area that, following the opening of the railway line (1875), represented the growth and expansion of the town at the end of the 19th century, since in addition to the construction of the station and the school, factories were also installed there due to the proximity of the railway line.

It is an example of eclectic architecture with rationalist echoes. It represents one of the few examples of rationalism in Binissalem. Although it cannot be defined as a “pure” rationalist building, it is a product of the transition period experienced by the architect Forteza from regionalism to rationalism.

Complex consisting of school (with indoor playground), garden and sports field/school playground.

A few years ago the old sports field/playground was covered, removing the wall that enclosed it. to allocate it to different uses. The wall and the fence that enclosed the garden and the school were also removed.

-ARCA (2000): Catàleg d’elements d’interès artístic, històric, ambiental i patrimoni arquitectònic del centre urbà de Binissalem.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines

-Oral Sources.

Pou Poal

A communal well, currently in disuse and a fine example of popular architecture, which still contains water. It is dated between the 13th and 15th centuries and features later renovations.

Located in a rural setting, it served to supply water to users of the path that, passing through Binissalem, went towards Coll d’en Simonet and towards the Vall d’Alaró and Orient.

The installation of the train tracks in 1875 separated it relatively from the urban core. It is well documented throughout history.

Of the shadoof-type well, it has undergone transformations and is currently the only one of this type remaining in Mallorca.

It consists of the well, the mota (raised base), the paving, the neck, two incomplete pillars and two living stone monoliths used until the 18th century to place a seesaw mechanism and draw water.

A crossbar was placed on top of the stone monoliths and a long pole swung on top of it. A counterweight was placed at the rear end of the pole, and at the other end, above the well, a container, in this case a bucket. The counterweight was arranged in such a way that it balanced the system with the full bucket, thus lifting the bucket out of the well with minimal effort. Only the two stone monoliths remain of the aforementioned system. This system was later changed to the traditional bucket and pulley and, possibly, the current collar and base were built. It seems that in the past the pulley was supported by a pillar and later (1893) by three wooden props nailed to the paving. Photographs from 1993 show the neck of the well with the two complete pillars and a crossbar on top.

-ARCA (2000): Catàleg d’elements d’interès artístic, històric, ambiental i patrimoni arquitectònic del centre urbà de Binissalem.

– Oral Sources.

Carrer de sa Creu

A paradigmatic photograph showing the old carrer de sa Creu, with the well in the foreground and a background of demolished walls and the elongated silhouettes of the almond trees of that era.

The trees in this photograph, taken around 1900, have a natural elegance, growing freely rather than in neat rows. Beneath their shade, neighbours would surely gather in summer to discuss everyday events and matters of public interest in the early twentieth century.

The way the people in this image are posing is particularly interesting: they are all fully prepared to look their best in this photograph, which is a real gem.

This street takes its name from a boundary cross that was formerly located near the Pou de sa Creu, to which it gave its name as well as to the street, and which was subsequently moved to carrer des Reg. Next to it stand two plane trees and a small petrol station. In its current location, it is decontextualized as a visual landmark at the entrance to the town, as boundary crosses were traditionally situated near the entrance to a population center, at a monastery, or by the side of a road.

-ARCA (2000): Catàleg d’elements d’interès artístic, històric, ambiental i patrimoni arquitectònic del centre urbà de Binissalem.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines. Binissalem

Plaça de l'Església

The church of Santa Maria de Robines (so named since 1986, as the first incumbents were Sant Jaume and the Mare de Déu Assumpta) is located in a prominent place, the old Plaça dels Lledoners, now the Plaça de l’Església, which was urbanized in the 19th century, resulting in most of the surrounding buildings being renovated during that era.

Its stonework is imposing, both from the outside and inside.

The church photographed in 1901 is the third to have stood on the same site, a legacy of the original church of Robines in the Cementeri Vell; it was built in the 18th century in the Baroque style, although it retained Gothic remains such as the vaults of two chapels located on each side of the apse, the bell tower, and the main portal with ogival archivolts decorated with plant motifs.

It had not yet undergone the expansion of the bell tower, completed in 1908.

The construction of what would be the fourth parish church began at the beginning of the 18th century through the impetus of Mossèn Rafel Sabater, under the direction of Bernat Cabrer and the economic splendor that the town experienced from the second half of the 17th century and especially during the 18th century.

It is undoubtedly one of the best examples of a religious building from the Baroque period in Mallorca. It is a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC).

The square, urbanized in the 19th century, served as the town cemetery from the 14th century until shortly before the restored 13th-century cemetery was reopened in 1822. The aforementioned Plaça dels Lledoners was located next to the cemetery, and since its urbanization, it has undergone various changes, including the trees, the paving, the streetlights, and the construction of the cadafal in 1927, designed by the architect Guillem Forteza Piña.

-Martí Coll, Guillermo (1978-1989): Binissalem, su historia y su entorno. 4 vols. Ediciones Cort i OMNI.

-ARCA (2000): Catàleg d’elements d’interès artístic, històric, ambiental i patrimoni arquitectònic del centre urbà de Binissalem.

-Llabrés, J. and A. Pascual (2000): The Parish Church of Santa Maria de Robines. Brochure. Ajuntament de Binissalem.

–Llabrés, J. i A. Pascual (2000): El Cementiri Vell de Binissalem (1822-1899) i altres dades sobre cementiris vuitcentistes de Mallorca. Historical and artistic memory . Unpublished.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines

Can Gelabert

Can Gelabert For centuries, it was the manor house of the Gelabert de la Portella, a representative family of pagesos de mà major (landowning farmers) of Binissalem. Dating from between the 16th and 20th centuries and built in a traditional style, it features a Mannerist detail in the courtyard cistern and neoclassical interventions from 1820 in the gallery and the paintings of the Pompeian Rooms.

In the photograph, one can observe a dry stone wall finished with a coping, which surrounded the garden and orchard of Can Gelabert, extending from the point observed to the space now occupied by the Binissalem – Es Raiguer Health Center. This wall provided total privacy to the estate while conditioning the urban layout, as carrer des Sac was very narrow.

We also observe a small gas station, as well as a boundary cross, which in theory was moved to the Biniali road, but photographic documents show us that it is not the same.

The boundary crosses were located near the entrance to a town, in a monastery or on the edge of a road.

In 1982, the manor house was purchased by the Binissalem Town Council and, after significant renovations, was inaugurated in 2000 as the Casal de Cultura Can Gelabert. One of these reforms involved the demolition of the wall and the construction of the park in the garden area, while carrer de Sant Sebastià was also extended to carrer des Sac.

One of the last owners was Llorenç Moyà Gelabert de la Portella, writer (1916-Binissalem, 1981-Palma). In 1965, together with the members of the Club Atlant, to highlight the secular wine culture of our town, they created the Festa des Vermar.

-ARCA (2000): Catàleg d’elements d’interès artístic, històric, ambiental i patrimoni arquitectònic del centre urbà de Binissalem.

-Nadal Nicolau, Bernat (2007): Binissalem, passat i present. Gràfiques Rubines