In the 19th Century the Port of Soller had a large fleet of Sailing Ships transporting goods to the East Coast of Spain and the South Coast of France. The advent of the ‘Steamers’ (steam boats) in the second half of the 19th century brought the sailing vessels to an end. The Soller shipping lanes were using steamers owned by the Ports of Palma and Ciutadela. The Sollerics soon decided that they wanted a Steamer of their own which would be based in the Port of Soller.
In 1891 the ‘Compania de Navegacion Sollerense’ was created and they bought a second hand British Steamer and renamed it ‘Leon de Oro’. this became Soller’s own Steamer and it had a regular route from Soller to Palma to Cuitadella to Barcelona and finally to Cette. By 1904 the limitations of the size of steamer and the low power of the vessel was irritating the ambitious Sollerics so they sold it. A new maritime company ‘Maritema Sollerense’ was formed in 1903 and they ordered their own Steamer which was called Villa de Soller. This was large enough to take 60 passengers alongside the transportation of goods and their route was the triangle of Soller – Barcelona – Cette (now renamed as Sete)
The first world war put an end to commercial activity in the Mediterranean. It was all too risky so the Villa de Soller was sold to a new Catalan owner. A few years later it was sunk by a German submarine close to the French coast.
After the first world war the Soller ship owners created a new company called ‘Navegacion Sollerense’and bought a new Steamer (the one in the picture) called Maria Mercedes. The service operated from 1923 to 1928 on the Soller – Barcelona -Sete route.
Trasmediterranea was created in 1916 and had the power and size to eliminate all the small companies of the Spanish Mediterranean Ports making shipping in Soller difficult and unprofitable and so the Maria Mercedes was sold.
Work began in 1930 to extend the commercial capacity of the Port of Soller with a view to making it a hub for many ships. A new dock was built and there were grand visions for the future. The Spanish Civil War took over and requisitioned the Port of Soller as a Military Base. The Port of Soller’s ambitions to be a commercial Port ended at that time.
Information courtesy of Jean-Christope Rotger
