Castillo de Bellver, Palma de Mallorca

Dominating the landscape, this castle atop the hill is a failed temptation - Fernanda accuses me of being a castle maniac, and, to prove that I'm not "castle dependent" I missed this one.

But I really am sorry - it was built in the 14Th century, with a round shape, not so common, in my "collected" castles, and the sights must be... gorgeous. Next time I will try to find a "El Corte Ingles" in the area, and... you know!

4 more images

Bellver castle is almost worth a visit just for the wonderfull view. The castle is 137 metres above sea level and commands a view right across Palma bay. Construction of the castle was begun by Jaume II in 1300, took 11 years to complete, and was built by Pere Salva, the architect of the Almudaina Palace.

The castle was used as a prison for many centuries but now houses Palma's museum of municipal history. The entrance fee to the museum is 4 euros for tourists and 2 euros for locals during the week but is free week-ends and public holidays.

The castle is sign posted from central Palma ( brown signs ) The city tour buses visit the castle or you will need a car or a taxi as it would be too far to walk from the port or Palma town.

3 more images

Bellver is a circular castle on a hill above the city of Palma. It was built in the 14th century for King James II of Aragon. It was used as a military prison during the 18th and 19th centuries. Now it is one of the main tourist attractions of the island.It was used as a prison in the 1950s, a period where many people where still being prosecuted for their loyalty and commitment to the Republic during the Spanish Civil War 1936-39.

1 more image

Sailing into the Bahia de Palma, one of the first sights we saw was Castillo de Bellver, meaning "lovely view" in Catalan. We thought it was an ancient castle or fort, but it's name and history were unknown to us at the time. Unfortunately we never had time to visit it, but it is a sight definitely worth mentioning for those planning a visit to Mallorca.

The uniquely round castle was commissioned by Jamie II (Jaume II) in 1300, and built by architect Pere Salva who also was the architect of Almudaina Palace as history has it. The construction took 40 years. Though built as a fortress and summer home for the Kings of Mallorca, for many centuries the castle was used as a prison for famous political prisoners, such as encyclopaedist Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, French physicist/astronomer, Francois Arago, and General Luis de Lacy.
The widow and son of King Jaime III were imprisoned in the Castle as well. Bellver was last used as a prison in 1915. King Jaime II die there of tuberculosis.

Two round and two square towers connect to a large round circular structure forming a central courtyard. The inside of the large round structure is unusual for its two levels of columns supporting Gothic arches on the first level and perhaps Romanesque archs on the second.

Today, the castle is a museum which contains Roman, Spanish and Arab artifacts and traces the historical development of the city. Many of the items in the museum are said to have been donated by Cardinal Despuig (where have I heard that name before??). The castle sits on a hill from which marvelous views of the Bay, Marina and old, historic buildings of Palma can be seen.

Admission to Bellver Castle is 2 Euros for adults; 1 Euro for students; Children 12 and under are free.

The Castle is roughly a mile and a half from the old center of Palma and can be reached by car, taxi or bus. If by bus, use the Placa Gomila stop.

2 more images

Bellver Castle (Castell de Bellver) is a circular castle on a hill near Palma de Mallorca on the Island of Majorca, Balearic Islands. It was built in the 14th century for King James II of Mallorca. It was used as a military prison during the 18th and 19th centuries. Now it is one of the main tourist attractions of the Island. It was used as a prison in the 1950s, a period where many people where still being prosecuted for their loyalty and commitment to the Republic during the Spanish Civil War 1936-39. After the Civil War, the insurgents, being victorious in part through the aid of National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy, and also the reluctance to come to the aid of the democratic Spanish Republic by such major European powers as Great Britain and France, the leader of the Nationalist-Falangist rebellion, Franco, established a dictatorship that would last until his death in November 1975. Some estimates put the total number of executed prisoners in Spain in the first decade of the dictatorship as high as 60,000, some of whom may have spent time incarcerated in Castell de Bellver.

The intellectual and writer Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos was one of the most famous prisoners of the castle.

The entrence fee is 1.80E

luckily for us the cleaner was going about her duties whilst we were there and told us quite a bit about the castle (including stories about people being locked in for the night at closing time)

it cost 2 euros per person to get in - and we had views of palma and beyond.

you can get into most areas of the castle (but not the tower) and there are little exhibitions in some parts.

some signage is onlly in mallorcian.

4 more images

You will enjoy a wonderfull view from the top of the hill where this castle is located, 137 mt above the sea level.

It is hard to believe that this castle has been standing for almost 700 years. Begun by Jaume II in 1300 and built by Pere Salva, the architect of the Almudaina Palace, it is unique among European castles in being entirely round. For many centuries the castle was used as a prison. These days it contains Palma's museum of municipal history.

The entrance fee in the museum is 4 euros for tourists and 2 euros for locals. On holydays and weekends the entrence is free. It's worthy to visit the museum, it has all the history of the city within it's walls.

3 more images

Situated on a hill overlooking Palma, the Castell de Bellver is well worth a visit. Some of the guidebooks said you could walk up there but I don't think I'd fancy that walk. As we had a hire car we used that instead which made the job much easier.
From the castle itself you get some excellent views from Palma and around the coast and inland to the mountains.
The castle itself is circular, and is on 3 levels.
You don't have to pay, at least we didn't.
We were lucky enough to look round in between coach parties so we could take some nice pictures, but once the coach parties turned up I'd imagine it would get a bit crowded, expecially on the small castle steps.