Torre de Cala en Basset
| Torre de Cala en Basset | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Torre de la Rabassada | |
| Creation time : | 1581 | |
| Construction: | Limestone - masonry | |
| Place: | Punta de Sa Galera, Sant Elm , Mallorca | |
| Geographical location | 39 ° 35 '45.3 " N , 2 ° 21' 3" E | |
| Height: | 80 msnm | |
|
||
The Torre de Cala en Basset (also Torre de la Rabassada ) is a watchtower from the late 16th century in the municipality of Andratx on the Balearic island of Mallorca . With the Talaia de na Guinavera , the Torre de Llebeig and the Torre de Sant Elm , it formed a line of defense to protect the west coast of Mallorca.
history
In the 16th century, defense towers began to protect the coast of Mallorca against attacks from the sea. In the municipality of Andratx , the Talaia de na Guinavera, the Torre de Llebeig, the Torre de Cap Andritxol, the Torre de la Mola and the Torre de Cala en Basset were built between 1580 and 1590. According to contemporary documents, the latter was completed on October 10, 1581.
During an inspection in 1597, the tower was occupied by two men. There was no stair or ladder to go up to, just a rope. The armament consisted of a 12-hundredweight cannon , two muskets and two arquebuses . Ammunition was 12 pounds of gunpowder , 10 cannonballs, 16 bullets for the muskets and 10 for the arquebuses.
In the 19th century the tower lost its military function and was no longer occupied. During the Spanish Civil War , the tower was rebuilt in 1938/39 and used to monitor the airspace and the strategically important strait between the island of Sa Dragonera and Sant Elm . Today the Torre de Cala en Basset is freely accessible and offers visitors a spectacular view.
description
The tower stands at the Punta de Sa Galera on the 80 m high cliff Es Niu de s' Àguila (German: " Osprey nest"), which slopes steeply into the sea . Mallorca's western cape Punta Negra is about one kilometer south-southwest, the next town, Sant Elm, about 2 kilometers south. From its location, the Torre de Cala en Basset controlled the northern entrance to the Canal des Freu between Mallorca and the island of Sa Dragonera and the northeastern coast of the Cala en Basset to the Morro de Sa Rajada. The cylindrical tower with a circular floor plan has an outer diameter of 7 meters and is 9 to 10 meters high. It is made of irregular, horizontally laid stones from Marès with large joints and partly plastered. The interior of the tower can be reached through a ground level entrance that was only created in 1938. The original entrance is now a window. The interior has a diameter of 4 meters. Its dome-shaped ceiling is up to 3 meters high. The platform of the tower can be reached with the help of a rope and iron brackets attached to the wall, as well as a small staircase. The roof platform still has the original paving, but was changed significantly in 1938/39 with the construction of an accommodation and a covered lookout. The platform has a diameter of 6 meters and is surrounded by a 60 to 80 centimeter wide parapet that is 50 centimeters high on the sea side and up to 3 meters high on the land side. The structural changes during the civil war also include a 4 meter high cistern on the southwest side of the tower and an outbuilding on the southeast side.
The Torre de Cala en Basset has been a listed building since 1949 . It is registered in the Spanish Cultural Property Database ( Bienes de Interés Cultural ) under number RI-51-0008332.
source
- Torre de defensa de Cala en Basset or de la Rabassada (PDF; 1.19 MB). Datasheet AM141 in the Andratx Historical Heritage Catalog (Catalan).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Torre de Cala en Basset . In: N'Alí. The revista de la comarca de Ponent . Vol. 2, No. 14, 1987, pp. 7-8 (Spanish).
- ↑ Roland Otto: Tour in the West: On the trail of smugglers on the Mallorca Zeitung website , accessed on November 29, 2018.
