The Cathedral of Palma is the main religious building of the Balearic Islands. Its construction began in 1229 after the Reconquest of the Islands by the Crown of Aragon. The church was erected on the site of an old mosque. Work continued for almost 400 years, until 1601. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the temple was restored several times after the collapse of the vaults. In 1851, after a devastating earthquake, the original austere Gothic main façade was reconstructed in neo-Gothic style. At the beginning of the 20th century, another cardinal change awaited the cathedral. In 1904, at the invitation of Bishop Campins, Antonio Gaudi began to work on restoring the original appearance of the cathedral.
Rectangular in plan, the cathedral has quite impressive dimensions: 121 meters long, 55 meters wide and 44 meters high. Its space of 6.600 sq.m. accommodates 18 thousand people. The style of the temple belongs to the so-called Levantine (Spanish) Gothic, marked by the influence of northern European (German) architectural traditions.
The museum of the cathedral (operating since 1932) stores samples of jewelry, medieval paintings, relics. Among them stands out a 120-kilogram silver monstrance, which is used annually during the feast of the body of Christ, as well as a 15th-century reliquary inlaid with precious metals and stones with a particle of the Life-Giving Cross.
In addition to worship, it regularly hosts organ concerts. In 1931, the cathedral was proclaimed an artistic and historical monument. Read completely ↓
