The Modern style in Sóller

The mansion called Can Pruneras as well as the façade of de Bank of Sóller and of the church are probaly the most representative buildings of the modren style in Sóller. Can Prunera is situated onthe street "La Lluna". It was built between 1909 and 1911.

It is unifamiliar house. The building is made of calcareous stone in a barroque modern style. It is abundantly decorated with iconographs inspired by nature. This decorartive programme abounds with organic inspiration as well as geometrical and figurative design. The nymphs, playing instruments, project from the ceiling at the entrance. In the dining still lifes depicting hunting and fishing can be seen showing partridges, hares and lobsters.

The ornamental designs in Can Prunera are not limited to the walls and ceilings. They can also be seen in the stained glass, the balustrade, the marquetry of the furniture and the roof. The building as a whole is outstanding, as it includes ornamental elements both inside and out.

The building belongs to the company "Ferrocarril de Sóller" (Sóller railway). Thanks to the contribution of the foundation "tren de l'art" (Train of the Art) the building is being totally restored. This reconstruction work is being subsidised by the Balearic Island Government and the European Union with the aim of turning it into an interpretation of Modernism in Mallorca.

William Waldren

William Waldren was born in New York City (1924) and died in Deià (2003). He dedicated his life to painting and archaeology. He spent most of his life in Mallorca.

He studied at the Art Students League of New York and the Academie Julian in Paris. In 1953 he settled in Deià (Mallorca), where in 1962 he created the artistic grup "Els deu d'Es Teix".

William waldren is buried in Deià where his wife and daughters still live.

Waldren made important excavations in different parts of Mallorca, above all in Serra de Tramuntana. He also published many books on his discoveries.

In Deià, there is an archeology museum founded by him (deià Archaelogical Museum Research Centre, DAMARC) which can still be visited today. Some of his collections are also exhibited in the Balearic Prehistoric Archeology museum. In this museum, there is a collection of fossil remains of Myotragus balearicus Bate, an artiodactyl native to the Balearics, whose extinction coincided with the appearance of the human population on the archipelago. The owner of the collection is DAMARC and it is permanently housed at "the Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals" for its suitable conservation. All the material, currently going through Museum treatment and cataloging, comes from the excavations carried out by William Waldren in the Muleta Cave (near Sóller). It is the most important collection of fossil remains of Myotragus balearicus Bate in the world due to the number of samples it contains.

Perhaps, this sentence of his is the best commentary on his own work:
"My work could be the line of difference between two states. The line between life and death, between black and white, between light and dark, love and hate. The line that leaves a wave printed on the wet sand" William Waldren

The textile industry of Sóller

In Sóller the exportation of silk and the existence of some weavers, above all women, are documented since the 17th century. Moreover, the production of worsted is also documented.

In the 19^th century there was an incipient industrialization in the area and the capitalist system was introduced, specially in the textile industry and for this reason important investments in highly mechanized factories were made. The transoceanic emigration to Puerto Rico or to France and the commercialisation of the orange favoured these great investments.

The created infrastructure helped to foster a commercial network of the textile production. In this atmosphere of economic expansion, the Bank of Sóller was also created (1890-1943).

Different textile companies from Sóller specialized in making striped clothe, one of the main fabrics which were exported. During the first two decenniums of the 20^th century the textile industry experienced a period of productive expansion.

In 1928 there were 9 productive textile factories.

During the decenniums of 1950 and 1960, the textile industry as well as the factories disappeared. Among other reasons, this was caused by the impossibility to adapt itself to the synthetic clothes, the lack of inversions to modernise, the technical backwardness...

The businessmen started focusing their attention on other business which were more profitable and didn't require this extent of modernisation: the acquisition of real estates, tourism and the first hotels.

In 1970 they closed all the factories, with the exception of Ca les Ànimes which resisted the crisis until 1990 when it finally closed.

The tram

The first line of the electric tram to Sóller was inaugurated from Sóller to Port of Sóller on the 4^th of October in 1913 .

The tram of Sóller started being built after the inauguration of the railway line from Palma to Sóller. The project was designed and directed by Pere Garau. 4.868 metres of railway were installed. It outstands the iron bridge over the “ Major stream” .

Initially the tram had its own power station placed in the Sóller railway station. It worked with an internal combustion engine of 65 cart-horses which operated on a dynamo Siemens-Schuckert and produced continuous power of 600 volts.

Although the tram of Sóller was conceived for the transport of passengers, it was also used to transport goods to the port. The fresh fish was carried in a small isothermic truck and the coal was also carried in towes to the old submarine military headquarters in the Port of Sóller and to the Gas factory.

The three self-propelled vehicles of the tram numbered from 1 to 3 and the towes numbered 5 and 6 are the original ones, ordered from the company Carde & Escoriaza in Zaragoza. The open tramcars were bought in the trams of Palma in 1954. Moreover, the tram of Sóller has five self-propelled vehicles from Lisbon.

The landscape of port of Sóller is charming; the tram runs past orange orchards and the harbour .

Son Marroig

Son Marroig, like its neighbouring property Miramar in Valldemossa, was one of properties bought by the Archduke Lluis Salvador of Austria (1847-1915), after falling in love with the scenery of the north coast of Mallorca.

The author of the work "Die Balearen", modernized old house preserving the fortified XVI century tower and carring out Italian style extensions. He also built at one end of the garden a small neoclassic marble temple from Carrara. It over looks the point of Sa Foradada and on very clear days, the island of sa Dragonera can also be seen.

On the death of the Archduke, the property passed into the hands of his secretary, Antoni Vives and in 1928 the present museum was founded, exhibiting objects and mementoes of Lluis Salvador, a collection of ceramics and Mallorcan paintings from the XIX century.

Since 1978, Son Marroig has held the "Deià International Festival" dedicated to chamber music every year.

During the XIX and XX centuries, some well-Known artists painted the spectacular scenary of theTramuntana mountains of Mallorca and due to this the first tourists began to appear on the island.
Among them we can highliht Joaquim Mir, Antoni Ribas, Hubert Erwin etc.

La Defensora Sollerica

In 1877 the society of " Artisans and Farmers" was created to develop mutual aid. It was the initiative of Ignasi Alcover Muntaner and was founded with the the objective of helping poor people, especially in the case of illness by providing a type of health insurance. In 1879, the company agreed to provide mortgages to membres who requested them.

Later, cultural activities were added such as a theatre, which was in fact, the first theatre in the town. Then, Salvador Elies Capelles established and directed the Business Academy.

In 1958, it chanched it status from a mutual aid into a cultural sports and leisure organization. Today, it offers various activies such as basketball, eveling, theatre, hiking.

The train

This train has communicated the city of Palma with the village of Sóller since 1912. The train goes along 27 kilometres of railway running past beautiful landscapes wihich still retain their original nature.

This train is pulled by an electrical locomotive and it is the only one of this type left nowdays. It runs towards the north, goes through the plains and later runs up tortuously going through thirteen tunnels, which facilitate crossing through the Tramuntana mountain range, until it reaches the Sóller Valley.

The train, at the length of only seven kilometre surpasses an inequality of 199 metres, runs over different bridges among them the viaduct "of the 5 bridges" which has five arches, 8 metres high, with numerous bends.

Traditionally, it was formed by five carriages and a German self-propelled vehicle; The carriages are made of wood and display the original shield of the company. The seats are cushiones (first class) or wooden (second class).

It takes one hour to get to Sóller: a small village which displays the Mediterranean charm and the mundane atmospher of a harbour open to Europe.