La Seu Palma Cathedral

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Palma de Mallorca is the capital of the Balearic Islands. It is located south of Mallorca and enjoys a fantastic view over the bay of Palma. One of the first things tourists should visit when they arrive here is the fantastic cathedral which dominates the entire bay –La Seu Palma Cathedral.

Palma del Mallorca has a great fame due to this masterpiece work of Gaudi and architect Miguel Barcelo –an unequaled cathedral, “La Seu” (of the sea, light and space) which until recently reflected in a surrounding sea. Now there is left just a small lake around it, where at night, lovers walk on the shore and movies from around the world are projected on a giant screen. Legend says that the Bishop of Majorca, caught in the middle of a storm, has pledged to build a church in honor of the Virgin Mary if he and his comrades would survive the storm. Virgin Mary has helped him and he raised the church on the ruins of a mosque, becoming a cathedral eventually.

La Seu was built on the site of an Arab mosque. The construction of the building began in 1229, during King James I of Aragon, but was finally completed in 1601. The famous architect Antoni Gaudi has also left his traces on the cathedral in 1901 when he participated in the restoration work. Built in a French Gothic style, the cathedral is 121 m long, 55 meters wide and 44 feet tall. The main body of the building is laid on a dense mass of pillars and columns, behind which there is a strong buttress reinforced with a double row of arches. The bell tower, still unfinished today, has a height of 52 meters and three floors. The main facade, which overlooks the Almudaina Palace, collapsed during the earthquake in 1851 and was later completely rebuilt, except the door that originates from the renaissance period and miraculously survived the earthquake.

The interior is vast, with dimensions harmoniously proportioned. In the rear part there is located the Royal Chapel, having the following dimensions: length of 25 m and 16 m in height. Interior columns are adorned by Gaudi himself at the beginning of the century with wrought iron chandeliers, like rings around them. The most controversial part added by Gaudi is represented by the crown of thorns made from cardboard and cork that is suspended above the altar.

The monument is open for visitors and tourists can even visit a museum of the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca. Parc de la Mar (Great Park) is located nearby and can be admired from the height of the cathedral. The cathedral remains to be one of the most important tourist attractions on the island.

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