Miller
Singular places
, Santiago Pontones
This remote village is surrounded by walnut trees, pines and luxuriant orchards and is a veritable spring in its own right: it is home to the sources of at least four bodies of water, meaning that you will be accompanied by the almost-constant burble of fountains, springs and irrigation channels as you pass through the village. The streets of Miller contain fine examples of bread ovens, olive mills and public washing areas, important examples of an ethnological heritage that has enabled many generations to survive in this harsh yet beautiful landscape.
The first written records mentioning Miller date back to the 12th century, when the Moors occupied this region, although it is known that human beings had already settled in this area by the Bronze Age. Since then the village has been a hub of rural activity, which has left its mark in the form of different structures and other remnants.
The village also contains a castle or fort, of which a three-storey tower still remains, along with forty metres of a defensive wall standing six metres high. The structure was built by the Moors to defend themselves from the almogávares, Aragonese soldiers, in the 12th century. Throughout the intervening centuries, Miller’s inhabitants have used material from the castle to build houses and pens for livestock in the area around it.
Village communities in the Segura mountains were only able to survive because everyone came together and collaborated on communal tasks and activities. These collaborative efforts stretched beyond the basic needs of food and water: Miller’s church, for example, was built by the villagers themselves in 1857.
We recommend:
Following the circular trail, which has a duration of approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes, that winds its way through Miller and will give you a thorough tour of the village and its inhabited areas.
LOCATION
From Santiago de la Espada, take the JF-7038 towards Las Juntas de Miller (a distance of some 22 kilometres). From there, and before crossing the bridge, turn left on to the road signposted “Central y Miller”. Two kilometres on you will arrive at the village of Miller.
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