Lecina

Lecina is in the eastern part of the Parque de Guara and near the famous Cañon del Vero. From L'Ainsa take the road to Guaso, Arcusa, Bárcabo. Stay on the main road (do not turn right where Lecina is signposted) until you reach the parkingspace for the canyon. Walk down to the canyon, cross the Río Vero, follow the trail to the left.
The mill is situated deep down into the canyon.

Pictures: 02.i.1994, 22.xii.1998

(1) Watermill with embalse.

(2) Backwall with Río Vero.

This molino moderno is the only harinero out of three remaining and certainly worth a visit, if only to enjoy the landscape. The construction isn't in a very good shape anymore. Some people should try to secure the building instead of placing signposts.

Damián Peñart y Peñart gives an overview of the history and two nice old photographs.

The mill was extended with a powerstation just before the Spanish Civil War. It would provide Lecina with the much needed electricity for forty years. After the emigration wave of the 1960s the mill was left without molinero. The watermill continued to generate electricity during the nights but not much later even this business was discontinued.

(3) Harinero.

(4) Closed outlets in backwall.

The powerstation is in the left part of the construction (red arrow). We found traces of probably electricity related activity in the rightmost part also. The room in the middle must have been the harinero (yellow arrow & pict. 3). It has an inlet from the balsa and two (now closed) outlets at the backside (4).

A turbine is situated in the space below the rightmost room (5). On both ends of the axle is a wheel mounted, one belt (left) running to the, now empty, room above and another belt (right) towards the second room (3).

(5) Turbine in space below rightmost room.

(6) Azud (dam) and start of channel.

The mill pond is fed by a canal (6) running about two meter above the riverbed and coming from about 100 meter upstream. This is only one of the reservoirs. The mill of Lecina has in fact also an upper mill pond behind the solid and curved azud. Compare with the dam of the mill in Samper.

We did a very lucky find in the riverbed (about in the center of the picture 7). A row of old wooden stakes across the river shows the location of an earlier and simpler dam (10). The line continues on the rock next to the water as a line of holes (11).

(7) Dam with first embalse.

(8) Outlet of power station.

(9) Shunt to drain reservoir
Blue arrow in (1).

(10) Remnant of old dam.

(11) Waiting in vain for a pole.

(12)

(13)

The powerstation (red arrow in pict. 1) is empty except for some insulators (13) and a burned contraption which is probably kind of a transformer (12). There is a deep pit where the turbine lives with some controls which could be managed from upstairs.

Along the path coming down from the road to the mill some poles carrying insulators and wiring are trying their best to keep upright.