Path: Introduction - Visit the mills; catalogue - Acumuer
Mills in Alto Aragón - harinero, central eléctrica

Acumuer

Acumuer lies deep in the valley that it gives its name. From the main road between Sabiñánigo and Biescas, follow directions for Larrés and the Museo del dibujo. Take left when you reach Larrés and follow the road below the village. You now enter the valley of the Rio Aurín and will pass several bore holes for natural gas. Be ready for some potholes. You will cross the river after some time and eventually reach Acumuer. Park the car in the penultimate hairpin before the village. Don't block the gravel road! Walk along the gravel road. At some point you will cross the GR. Follow the GR-markings and descend into the riverbed. Once down, walk against the stream until you reach the mill.

Pictures: iii.2000 and 20.iii.2002

Overview of the site with pressure pit, tube, pond and mill

Front with outlet and the right cárcavo
Not much of a difference between in- or outside

The mill is situated in the bed of the rio Aurín on a low platform. Thick walls behind the mill must break the current and protect the construction against drift-wood and boulders. The protection dams are broken and some impressive trees are swept against the remains. One day or another dams, mill and everything will be drained away.

The façade bears an inscription - 1763 - above the entrance. The outlet is at the right side. Both cárcavos open in the same drain. They are very deep and reach the backwall of the mill. The cárcavo left is for the power generator.

Some of the old machinery lies shattered all over the workfloor. The red arrow indicates two mill stones of the harinero. The yellow arrow points to the turbine for the power generator and the blue arrow shows the tube feeding the turbine.

Notice how both currents cross each other. The water for the flour mill comes from the right, from the balsa and flows to the left. The water for the generator comes from behind, goes to the turbine near the outer wall and then turns left to the drain.

Cárcavo with wheel and botana in metal
Pond (embalse) behind the mill - person gives depth

Only the cárcavo of the flour mill is accessable. The other opening is for the bigger part hidden behind debris. We found nice masonry housing a metallic rodete and ditto botana.
The mill pond leans against the back wall of the mill. The deepest point in the corner with the saetín is about two meter. One of the containment walls is an extension of the back wall. The other, perpendicular on the first, runs parallel with the river. The channel enters the balsa at the outer end of this wall. Only the last few meters are preserved. The rest is taken by the river.

Turbine number 156
The turbine carries several inscriptions. It's a number 156. The other side says La Electricidad S.A. Sabadell

The waterworks of the power station are most impressive. It's a pitty nobody seems to care for it. The water is not taken from the river, but from a small tribute rivulet high on the right bank. A new maintenance road was built exactly through the capture point and only some diffuse traces survived.

Capture point for the power station
First part of channel is closed

Channel with tube and river in background
Most of the rest of the channel still exists and is extremely well built. The first part of the channel is closed with flat stones making it immune for blockage by fallen rocks.

The channel continues for several hunderds of meters and then drops below an old path (connecting village and pastures) to discharge into an immense pressure pit (cubo).
A tube brings the water down to the turbine.

Channel drops below path and ends into cubo (left)
Cubo towers high above the mill

A tube carries the water to the turbine.

Path: Home / Alto Aragón: old watermills / Acumuer
Introduction
Learn about the parts of a mill
Visit the mills; catalogue
Literature and other websites
© and e-mail: