Alins

Alins is a village in the Ribagorza region and not near any of the main roads. It is situated on a line between Castejón de Sos and Pont de Suert a bit to the south from Laspaúles. The corn mill, however, is best reached from the south by taking the A-1605 running from Graus, over La Puebla de Roda and Bonansa towards the N-230 and Pont. You'll find the mill in the bend of the road at the 46 km mark hidden between the trees. The mill took its water from the Río Isábena.

Pictures: 6.viii.2006, 29.vii.2020

The construction

The waterworks

(1) Wall looking to the North and the road

The corn mill of Alins is a humble and inconspicuous construction hidden between the lush vegetation along the river. On maps it is tagged as Molino del Español after the name of the former miller Ramón Español Rami (†).

All doors and windows where meticulously closed and therefore we could not enter. But thanks to a crack in a window seal (2) and the reference at the bottom of this page we were able to get a picture of the internal divisions.

(2) Wall looking to the West

(3) Wall looking to the East

The door in the wall facing the road (1) gives acces to the upper floor which is a later addition to the original much smaller construction. The oldest section can still be recognized because it is built from natural stones, not from bricks like the rest. If you look carefully you may also find traces of the old roof lines. The planes of the gable roof looked to the East and the West which is perpendicular to the new situation.

The mill proper is only a single small room which occupies the ground floor of the western half (left in 4). The only entrance is the door situated below the porch (visible in 3, and 4).

The workplace has one small window looking to the West (2). The southern wall is blind. Unlike in most mills, there is no window which oversees the outflow of the cárcavo.

(4) Southern wall; white stroke points to the mouth of the cárcavo

In addition to the extensions, the old core itself has also undergone important changes, apparently after a fire and in order to compensate for a decrease in the flow of the Río Isábena (†).

The interior was dismantled and the floor was lowered by about 60 cm. At the entrance steps leading down had to be added (5). On te walls the old floor level can still be recognized.

As a result, the cárcavo and the restitution channel also had to be deepened. A new roof was cast from concrete and the wall above the cárcavo was closed with bricks (7). Inside the workplace the old arch is also still visible next to the hurst frame (6).

At least some beams are affected by woodworm: note the yellow wood flour on the stone case (6).

The hurst frame carries one pair of stones. According to Coronado (†) the runner is a composite stone from France. The sleeper is said to be a Spanish monolith. Probably similar to the old stone which is resting next to a tree behind the mill (9).

Notice that the mill is equipped with a so-called silent feed system. A silent (or rotary) feeder lacks the shoe with vibrator system to feed the grain to the stones. Instead the quantity is regulated by raising or lowering a small hopper placed below the tolva in the eye of the runner (8). More in El Gurrión (‡).

(9) Old mill stone ∅ 130cm

The construction

The waterworks

† José Martí Coronado — 2004 — Catálogo de Molinos de Laspaúles. Molino de Alins.
Libro de Fiestas de Laspaúles 2004. 28 pp.

‡ Vanhercke, L. & Anselin, A. — 2023 — A la búsqueda de Molinos. El alimentador silencioso.
el Gurrión xi.2023, N° 173. Labuerda, I.S.S.N.: 1130-4960. pp.21–26.