Open days at Castell de Bellver on the ocassion of the Balearic Islands Day. Its circular ground plan makes it unique in Spain and one of the four castles that exist in Europe with this feature. It is located on a hill surrounded by pine trees, one of the most spectacular viewpoints of Palma. In fact, its name Bellver means 'beautiful view' in old Catalan.It has been declared Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) since 1931.
Gothic style, was built in the fourteenth century by King Jaume II of Mallorca, acting as head architect Pere Salvà of the construction works. The Bellver castle was the residence of the kings of Mallorca, but from the beginning and throughout history the castle has served as a prison. The most famous prisoner was the illustrated Minister Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, banished to Mallorca in 1801 by order of Godoy and imprisoned at Bellver between 1802 and 1808. During his stay he made the first description of the castle, with plans and drawings, as well as the surrounding pine forest. Another use of the castle, more unknown, is as a mint in 1821.
In addition to the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat (Museum of the History of the City), with a collection of classical sculptures of Cardinal Despuig, its artificial caves are of great interest, an area of about 30,000 square meters used as a quarry to build the castle, which served to save truckloads of weapons, gasoline and dynamite during the Spanish Civil War. This cave is open to the public only one day a year, on January 20, the day of Saint Sebastian, patron of Palma.
