APB will soon renovate the old lighthouse of the port of Sóller
The drafting of the renovation project has now been completed.
Sóller
11/02/2021
The old lighthouse of Sóller, currently in disuse, will soon be renovated by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB). The frequent winds in the area and its difficult location mean that the lighthouse is currently in a poor state of conservation.
The drafting of the renovation project has now been completed, pending receipt of sector reports to start work. The works are expected to begin in early 2022 and will then be put out to tender. Meanwhile, due to the poor condition of the lighthouse, an emergency action has been taken to stabilise the structure using a steel cable and struts to prevent the loosening of ashlars.
Problematic location
The lighthouse was designed by Emili Pou and approved in 1862. Two years later it was to be inaugurated and it became immediately evident that it was a problematic lighthouse due to the complications provoked by a bufador (blowhole) located close by. This is a large hollow in the rock stretching down into the sea that causes a furious 30-metre high-wave to form during the strong NW storms and then crash down onto the lighthouse.
As early as 1865, intense shaking was felt in the building as a result of storms and large waves. The lighthouse keeper considered staying in the building very dangerous in those days and he transferred his family to a house near the lighthouse.
Plans were drawn up in 1928 for a new tower - the one currently known as far de sa Creu - located close by but slightly higher up and away from the bufador (blowhole), at the same time as a new residential building was built and already concluded. It was ready to be inhabited in 1944.
Photo: Guillem F. Raja Mayol
