Bergua

Bergua is situated in the Sobrepuerto.
From Fiscal —You'll find Fiscal on the main road between Boltaña and Broto— take the narrow road winding uphill to Bergua. Once there park your vehicle and locate the start of the path towards Escartín and Basarán at the west end of the village. You'll descend into the Barranco Forcos, cross the footbridge, immediately thereafter the second footbridge and then turn right. You'll soon recognize the base of the old bridge (pict. 2).

Pictures: 6.XI.2009

The construction is in bad shape, largely overgrown with ivy (10, 11) and therefore inconspicuous between the trees. The last remaining parts of the roof succumbed during 2009.

The whole consists of an antechamber (11) and two work-spaces all in line. That is because the mill is pressed between the walls of the lake (visible in the bottom right corner of pict. 9 and also leftside in pict. 11) and the riverside.

The room in the center (15) is largest and housed the harinero. The third room at the back (17) is much smaller and contained the power generator.
Holes in the walls indicate the existence of an upperfloor which provided probably nothing more than storage: the roof is too low in my opinion (15, 17).

The mill was obviously cleared from most of its machinery some time ago (see Dieste Mur).
We found no trace of the usual stuff like a dustcover or a crane and the grinding stones (17, 20) were found in the generator room —Why would someone bother to role the stones just a few meters and then leave them? Who's doing this?

The few leftovers indicate that there was kind of a distribution system: in order to drive a bolting or cleaning machine perhaps.

Some of the cogwheels are most peculiar. The wheel is made of steel but a row of slits is saved (16, 19). Wooden pegs (21) form the cogs.

(20)

The third room (17, 18, 22) likely housed a dynamo. Some insulators are scattered on the walls.

In those times there was electricity for no more than two or three hours a day (†), because there was only a limited amount of water and then flour came first and light only second.

†

María Jesús López —2005— Y volver... dejando atrás toda una vida.
In Encuentro en el Espejo - Inmigrantes y emigrantes en Aragón. Historias de vida.
Javier Escartín Sesé & Manuel Pinos Quílez (Ed.)
Fundación Seminario de Investigación para la Paz (Fundación SIP), Zaragoza.
ISBN: 84-921442-1-1