WATER: THE ELEMENT OF LIFE
Water is an indispensable element for life. It is essential for food, health, energy and the environment. Its presence or absence has shaped the character of peoples and the development of civilisations.
The history of water in Elche is an epic adventure. In this naturally arid land, the struggle to obtain it has shaped our landscape, our culture and our way of life.
Thanks to collective effort, Elche has been transformed into the Mediterranean oasis we admire today. The uniqueness of its landscape was shaped by generations who knew how to tame the scarcity of water. It achieved international recognition in November 2000, when UNESCO declared the Palm Grove of Elche a World Heritage Site.
MOLINO DEL REAL
We are at the Molino del Real, one of the oldest mills in Elche, whose origins probably date back to 1306. In documents from 1778, it appears as ‘Molino del Real y Arcos’, which seems to indicate that the current building dates from that period. Its name could derive from the Arabic term ‘raal’, referring to a farm smaller than a farmstead, or from the word ‘riyad’, garden, orchard, belonging to a notable figure in the city. It was in operation until 1940, mainly grinding grain to supply the local population.
Thanks to the differences in height of the Acequia Mayor irrigation channel, the mills transformed the energy of the water into mechanical power.
Historically, it is believed that there were eleven mills, all of them flour mills, from the highest part of the irrigation channel, to the north of the town, to the Ressemblanc mill, to the south. Most of them were of medieval origin and some of them were possibly Andalusian. The last mill, belonging to the Magros family (from Crevillente), was built in 1845.
The Molino del Real mill was part of a group of facilities located in the now defunct district of Horts i Molins, which is currently part of the town centre.
WATER ENERGY
With the advent of industrialisation (19th century), water mills began to be used to power factory machinery. Water, which for centuries had been vital for agriculture, became a source of energy and economic progress for a city undergoing transformation.
The mills provided energy to the town’s first factories, mainly textile mills, which produced canvas for espadrilles. Later, some of them were used for the production of tiles, ceramics and chocolate. In this way, these hydraulic constructions became links between tradition and modernity, facilitating Elche’s transition from an agricultural economy to a more diversified and industrial one.