Palma de Mallorca [-De ma ʎ ɔ rka], from 2008 to 2011 and again since 2016 only Palma, Mallorcan also Ciutat de Mallorca [ siu did ðe mə ʎ ɔ rkə ], capital of Majorca and the Spanish Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands and the main port (Commercial, passenger, fishing and yacht port) of the archipelago and seaside resort, on the southwest coast of Mallorca, in the center of the Badia de Palma bay, which is open to the south, (2020) 422 600 residents.
Catholic bishopric; University (founded 1978); Seminary, conservatory, trade and arts and crafts school, museums (including Fundació Miró by José Rafael Moneo , opened in 1992, museum for contemporary art, Fundació »Caixa«, diocesan museum), theater, congress hall, archive, casino, botanical garden. Important trade and tourism center, leather industry, weaving, embroidery, arts and crafts (especially gold and silver work); Export of early vegetables and citrus fruits; Ferry connections with Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Cádiz, Sète, Genoa, Menorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands; Starting point of the island roads and railways; international airport 10 km east. In the hinterland of Palma de Mallorca, the Horta de Palma extends with numerous windmills.
Cityscape
Palma de Mallorca and the tourist complexes adjoining it on both sides form an approximately 50 km long, almost closed urban agglomeration along the coast between Magaluf in the west and S’Arenal in the east. The city center, with a Moorish old town center, is dominated by the La Seu cathedral (begun in early Gothic style in 1230, completed around 1600) with three portals (south portal with large portico), Gothic bell tower from 1270, two main towers (19th century), seven Rose windows, in the interior (6,600 m 2, 44 m high) 18 side chapels, grave monuments of Jacob II and Jacob III. from Mallorca († 1311 or 1349), monumental chandelier by A. Gaudí, cathedral museum. The 20,000 m2 extensive Castell de L’Almudaina, as the former Alcázar residence of the Arab kings, redesigned by James II to the seat of the kings of Mallorca, now houses the military authorities and the national museum. Well-preserved Arab baths (10th century); former trading stock exchange (“Sa Llotja”, built 1426–51 in Gothic defense style; today a museum); the former maritime court (17th century; today seat of the regional government); Bishop’s Palace (16th century) with museum (including Gothic paintings from the 13th century); Town hall (16th / 17th century) with the historical archive of the Kingdom of Mallorca; Palau Aiamans with Museu de Mallorca (Moorish and medieval works of art); Early Gothic monastery church of Sant Francesc (1281–1317; alabaster tomb of R. Lullus) with cloister in Mudejar style; early Gothic church of Santa Eulària (1230 to 16th centuries, built over a former mosque; restored in 1808); Baroque Monti-sion church (1571–1683, built over the former synagogue); City walls (17th century) at the old port; numerous aristocratic palaces (especially from the 16th to 18th centuries). To the west is the »Poble Espanyol« (replicas of historical buildings from all regions of Spain); On a 113 m high hill in the west is the Castell de Bellver, former royal castle and summer residence (built 1300-09 by Jacob II over an Arab predecessor in Mudejar style). Century as a military prison, today the historical city museum.
History
The Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Greeks already had trading factories in the bay of Palma de Mallorca; after the Roman conquest of Mallorca (123 BC), Palma (named after the palm tree) was founded; the invasions of the Vandals (468) and Byzantines (533) were followed by Arab rule (798–1229). After the conquest by Jacob I. From Catalonia-Aragon, the city developed into the political, cultural and economic capital of the island (the Kingdom of Mallorca existed as Catalan-Aragonese secondary school from 1262-1348 / 49), but lost in the 14th and 15th centuries due to the plague, decline in trade and rebellions oppressed rural population in importance. Only in the 1960s did the importance of Palma de Mallorca take a huge boom due to the onset of mass tourism (main source of income), since 1983 it has been the capital of the Balearic Islands.
Mallorca
Mallorca [ma j ɔ rka, Spanish ma ʎ ɔ rka, Catalan mə ʎ ɔ rkə], largest of the Balearic Islands, 3,624 km 2, (2019) 896 000 residents; The capital, catholic bishopric and important port is Palma de Mallorca.
The island is divided into three landscape areas running parallel from southwest to northeast. The Serra de Tramuntana mountain range extends to the north-west; in Puig Major 1,445 m above sea level) from pushed Mesozoic deposits (especially Jurassic limestone), heavily cut and partly karstified, with table mountains and cliffs. Annual rainfall of around 1,200 mm in the high elevations enables irrigated agriculture (especially citrus fruits, vegetables) on red earth terraces (steeper slopes have palmito garigue; used for wickerwork), olive and carob crops up to 650 m above sea level, in between dry fields (grain); At higher altitudes, up to 950 m above sea level, Aleppo pines, holm oaks and maquis follow, above that hard grasses and cushion bushes that can only be used extensively as pastureland.
In the broad central part of the island, a flat, undulating, low plain covered with red earth, overlooked by individual karst hills, the bay of Palma intervenes in the south-west, and the bays of Alcúdia and Pollença (all with sandy beaches) in the north-east. With an annual rainfall of 400–500 mm, diverse cultivation is possible here (almonds, figs, apricots, olive trees, vines, Spanish pepper, cereals; vegetables, flowers, citrus fruits on irrigated land); In addition to tightly packed villages, individual farms are common on large estates. In the southeast rise the Serres de Llevant, a dissolved mountain range of Mesozoic limestone with flat hull surfaces (up to 562 m above sea level) and large caves (eg “Cova del Drac”). In many small port towns, fishing and sea salt production are practiced. Majorca’s main economic factor is tourism, who since 1900, reinforced v. a. after the Second World War, when bathing tourism developed, which led to increasing landscaping, especially on the south-west, north and east coasts. With the aim of damaging tourism, five bomb attacks were carried out on the island in the summer of 2009, led by the Basque terrorist organization ETA known.
