Estellencs

During the Islamic period, farmers cultivated the land around the area's springs and streams, cutting terraces into the steep hillsides to make agriculture possible. The town first appears in written records in 1234, under the name Stellenchs, when Berenguer de Palou, Bishop of Barcelona, granted land to Bernat de Moguda and his descendants on the condition that they maintain armed horses there. This arrangement gave rise to the knighthood of Estellencs and to the settlement that became today's town.

Two landowning families, the Fortuny and the Serralta, came to dominate the area, controlling the greater part of the municipal territory well into recent times. Through the 16th and 17th centuries, Barbary pirate raids were a recurring threat, and the town maintained a permanent defensive military structure in response.

The 19th century brought a period of relative prosperity built on mountain agriculture, particularly olive oil production. By 1830, the municipality had around 15 working oil mills. After that peak, Estellencs followed the pattern common across the Serra de Tramuntana: a slow, steady decline in both population and economic activity.

Administratively, Estellencs was tied to the neighbouring municipality of Puigpunyent until 1836, when it became an independent municipality in its own right.

The Church of Sant Joan Baptista, built in the 16th century, is the town's most prominent building. It incorporates a defensive tower that was later adapted as a bell tower. The church is in good condition, though an expansion begun in the 18th century was never completed.

Estellencs has four defensive towers, all declared Béns d'Interès Cultural (BIC) — the highest level of heritage protection in Spain. Two stand within the town itself: the Torre de l'Església, dating from the 16th century, and the Torre de Tem Alemany, from the 17th. Two more lie in the surrounding countryside: the Torre de S'Hort d'en Xeu and the Torre de Son Fortuny, both also from the 17th century. All four played a role in defending the population during the pirate raids of that era.

The historic stone houses of the old town centre were collectively declared BIC in 2007. Among the rural estates surrounding the village, Son Fortuny is considered the most significant, alongside others including Es Putxet, Es Grau, Cas Xocolater, Son Serralta, Es Collet, and Es Putxet. Son Serralta d'Abaix holds remains from the Iron Age and the Islamic period; Son Fortuny-Galatzó has yielded Islamic ceramics; and Es Putxet contains qanats, the underground water channels built during Islamic rule.

Water management is itself part of the heritage here. The town's hydraulic network of springs, aqueducts, cisterns, and irrigation channels largely dates from the Islamic period. The Comunitat de Regants de s'Ull de s'Aigua still manages water from the Son Fortuny spring, distributing it by the hour among several estates down to Es Collet.

The agricultural terraces supported by dry-stone walls are a defining feature of the landscape. Traditional charcoal-making also took place here, and circular stone charcoal huts are still visible, including one restored example at Son Serveres.

Two historic paths, the Camí Reial de Banyalbufar a Estellencs and the Camí de sa Costa, form part of the GR-221 long-distance route known as the Ruta de Pedra en Sec, which also connects to Esporles via the Camí des Correu. A key point along the route is the public estate Sa Coma d'en Vidal, which includes a refuge. These paths were incorporated into the GR-221 in 2015, following years of closure by private landowners and a sustained campaign by local residents, the Ajuntament de Banyalbufar, and the Consell de Mallorca.

In 2007, Estellencs served as a filming location for the feature film *Yo*, directed by Rafa Cortés.