The wine terraces of Banyalbufar

About six hundred people live in the small town of Banyalbufar, which is situated just below the mountain range of the Serra de Tramuntana in Western Majorca. The villages Banyalbufar, Port des Canonge and Son Coll are all part of the municipality. Banyalbufar itself was founded by the Moors in the tenth century. In 1229, after the Catalonian conquest of Majorca, the village was under the control of the noblemen Gilabert de Cruïlles and Ramon Sa Clusa. In the middle ages, Banyalbufar was subject to an absolutist government, also known as the barony of Banyalbufar. The origin of the quite uncommon name of the village has not been resolved completely. It might have derived from the Arabian "buniola al bahar", meaning "the wine terrace by the sea". Banyalbufar´s inhabitants have always and exclusively made a living from agriculture. The village itself is characterised by about twothousand slender wine terraces surrounding Banyalbufar. Today, mostly fruits, vegetables and Malvasia-grapes are grown, here. The terraces gain their water via supply channels that, to a large extend, had been built in Arabian times and transport the water from the mountains to the wine terraces.