San Antonio Mill and iron bridge, Guardamar del Segura

Puente del Hierro and Molino de Sant Antoni, Guardamar del Segura

On Calle La Redona, which runs along the western side of the town of Guardamar del Segura behind the castle, is a small leafy park which contains the Molino de San Antonio, an old flour mill set on the bank of the old course of the River Segura. This existence of a mill on this site dates back to the 14th century, and although it suffered extensive damage in the earthquake of 1829 it was rebuilt and continued working until well into the second half of the twentieth century.

The building has been partially restored, and there is a proposal to make use of it as a stop-off point for walkers from all over the province of Alicante.

This mill is now one of the attractions in a part of Guardamar where various suggested rural walks begin,  including the River Segura and various other points of interest. Just east of the mill, behind a large petrol station, is the Puente de Hierro, an iron bridge which was erected in 1929, rounding off a series of events which brought Guardamar into the industrial age and the twentieth century.

This transformation began with the replanting of trees in the dunes which saved the town from being engulfed and allowed the population to grow as the new century began. In 1918 a company was formed to build two canals, making use of alternative routes no longer followed by the River Segura, with the backing of none other than King Alfonso XIII. The site of the mill and the bridge thus became a backwater, which it still is today, and at this point the old water wheel which had been located here since 1613 was removed and replaced by an electric pump. This coincided with the arrival of electric light in the town, and the culmination of the transformation and regeneration of Guardamar del Segura was the visit of Alfonso XIII on 31st January 1923.

The iron bridge was not officially opened until six years later, replacing an earlier baroque structure which was built in 1775 but destroyed by a flood at the end of the 19th century. The new bridge carried traffic on the N-332 over the river, after more than thirty years of service had been given by a precarious wooden structure.

Click for map, Calle La Redonda, Guardamar del Segura

Images: Copyright Alicante Today

Further information about the municipality of Guardamar del Segura can be found in the dedicated Guardamar del Segura municipality section, accesed via the map box at the bottom of every page