Bellver Castle (, ) is a Gothic-style

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

on a hill 3 km to the west of the center of Palma on the Island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was built in the 14th century for King

James II of Majorca James II () (31 May 1243 – 29 May 1311) was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife, Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. In 1279, by the Treaty of Perp ...

, and is one of the few circular castles in Europe. First serving as the residence of the

Kings of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (1231–1715) was created by James I of Aragon following his conquest in 1229 and the subsequent surrender of sovereignty by the Muslim rulers of the Balearic Islands in 1231. It was ruled in conjunction with the Crown of ...

, and afterward long used as a

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members o ...

throughout the 18th to mid-20th century, it is now under civilian control, being one of the main tourist attractions of the island, as well as the seat for the city's History Museum.

Origins and evolution

The castle's plan, a circular floor with round towers attached to it,somewhat like the Herodion, a 15 BCE hilltop palace in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, that was also circular and had a large principal tower and three minor towers as well. They are attached while the principal one is coupled to the complex by a high bridge over the surrounding

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. The Castle has clear Islamic influences in its original design, displaying double Arches characteristic of

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Is ...

, a part of the fortification was built by architect

Pere Salvà Pere may refer to: *Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county *Pärtel-Peeter Pere (born 1985), Estonian entrepreneur, urban strategist, and politician * Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand e ...

, who also worked in the construction of the Royal Palace of La Almudaina, together with other master masons between 1300 and 1311 for King James II of Aragon and Majorca. Rock from the hill where the castle sits was used for the building, which has eventually led to the appearance of cracks. Once the castle had been built, and following the introduction of artillery, the battlements on the top balconies and the

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

disappeared, being soon followed by those in every tower; loopholes were built instead.

History

The castle originally served as a residence for the Kings of Mallorca after the

conquest of Majorca The conquest of the Majorca, island of Majorca on behalf of the Roman Catholic kingdoms was carried out by King James I of Aragon between 1229 and 1231. The pact to carry out the invasion, concluded between James I and the ecclesiastical and s ...

from the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berbers, Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). Th ...

Taifa of Majorca The Taifa of Majorca was a medieval Islamic taifa kingdom which existed from 1018 to 1203 in Majorca. It was founded by the Slavic warlord Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī. The first taifa lasted for about 50 years (1076-1116), first succumbing to a Chri ...

, whenever they were not staying in mainland Europe, and was subsequently seldom used as a residence for viceroys during the 17th century. As a fortification, it suffered and successfully resisted two

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

s during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

; the first of them in 1343, during

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

's campaign to reincorporate the Majorcan territories to the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

, and then again in 1391 during an anti-semitic

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

revolt. The castle has only fallen once in its history into enemy hands, in 1521 after an assault during the Majorcan second

Revolt of the Brotherhoods The Revolt of the Brotherhoods (, ) was a revolt by artisan guilds ('' Germanies'') against the government of King Charles V in the Kingdom of Valencia, part of the Crown of Aragon. It took place from 1519–1523, with most of the fighti ...

. The castle was usually governed by a Lord

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

. In 1408, King

Martin I of Aragon Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure th ...

gave the lordship of Bellver to the Charterhouse of Jesus of Nazareth in

Valldemossa Valldemossa () is a village and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th ce ...

. Charles of Viana arrived in 1459 to take possession of both the island and the castle, as he had agreed with his father King

John II of Aragon John II (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Juan II'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Joan II'', Aragonese language, Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and ; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was ...

, even though finally the King did not grant the lordship or Bellver Castle. Being an enclosed site, since the end of the 14th century it was used as a prison, firstly to hold Queen

Violante of Vilaragut Violante of Vilaragut (1320 or 1325 – before 1372) was a daughter of Berengeur de Vilaragut and his second wife Saura, who was an illegitimate daughter of James II of Majorca. Violante was titular queen of Majorca by her marriage to her cousin ...

, her stepchildren James and Isabella and other supporters of King James III of Mallorca after his death in the

Battle of Llucmajor The Battle of Llucmajor (; ) occurred in 1349 when Peter IV of Aragon's forces defeated and killed his cousin James III of Majorca in the town of Llucmajor on the Balearic Islands, resulting in the end of the independent Kingdom of Majorca. Back ...

in 1349. During the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

it was used to imprison first supporters of

Philip of Anjou Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the history of the Spanish mo ...

, and after the Bourbon victory, Maulets (supporters of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

pretender). During the Spanish Independence War it was used to hold several prisoners captured at the

Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army's Army of Andalusia, under General Francisco Javier Castaños and the French Imperial Army's 2nd Gironde Observational Corps under Divisional-General Pierre Dupont de l'Étan ...

and later, political prisoners, the most famous of these being the minister

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spain, Spanish Spanish Enlightenment literature, neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlighte ...

(1802–1808) who first made a description of the castle and commissioned the first blueprints and drawings of it. The castle served from then on as a political prison, used to lock up several important supporters of the subsequent Habsburg

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

s to the Spanish throne during the 19th century, and later notable republican and Catalanist leaders during the 20th century, including Alexandre Jaume, Member of the Parliament who first won the castle for the city, and Emili Darder, who was the mayor of the city, both subsequently shot.

Features

Having been founded as a seat for the royal court of James of Mallorca, its structure combines the needs of a palace with defensive elements. The most notable feature in its structure is its circular shape, unique in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

. Both its surrounding wall and the inner yard are so-shaped, and so are the three minor towers and the donjon. A moat is found surrounding the castle and its donjon. The circular inner yard must be highlighted. It has a well in the middle of it, which indicates there is a cistern underneath. The palace itself is structured as a two-story building around the central yard. All its dependencies face this yard through a gallery of gothic semi-circular arches.

Current uses

In 1931, the

Spanish Second Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

gave the castle to the city of Palma, along with the forest surrounding it. It became a museum in 1932, being restored in 1976 to become the city's History museum. Thanks to the parking lot and road built next to the castle, it currently welcomes a great number of visitors. The main yard is the seat to many different public ceremonies, such as protocol and cultural acts, and concerts. Due to its location and visibility from the sea or any other point of the city, it has become one of the city's symbols. The surrounding forest encloses the stables of the city's Mounted Peelers. There is also a chapel dedicated to Saint

Alphonsus Rodriguez Alphonsus Rodríguez () (25 July 1532 – 31 October 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit religious brother who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Life and work Rodríguez was the son of a wool merchant. When Peter Faber, one of the o ...

, built between 1879 and 1885. The Sunday following Easter Sunday, the citizens gather at the forest and the castle for the celebration of the '' Diumenge de l'Àngel''.

References

External links