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.