The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma
Recently I posted two photos from a trip we had to Mallorca in 2010 and as I was sifting through my photos, I came across these from The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma.
I googled The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma and found that it has an interesting history as well as architecture. Apparently the great Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi was involved in the building of this Cathedral too. I’ve always wanted to go to Barcelona to check out his famous architecture there. Maybe someday…
Here’s a gallery with some photos of the Cathedral, plus a couple of Mallorcan backyards:
The History of The Cathedral
I already write an article for the blog today (about cropping & resizing of images) and tomorrow I’ll have to return to another boring week at my lame job, so I don’t have time to write the history of this cathedral with my own words, but luckily someone has already written a good article on the subject, so I’ll post this short excerpt from a website called northsouthguides.com. If you’re interested in history and want to learn more, you can always visit their website (follow the link in the bottom of the article):
“The Palma de Mallorca Cathedral or ‘La Seu’, as it is known in Mallorca (Majorca), is the jewel in the crown of Mallorcan architecture. Apart from being one of the most famous Gothic buildings in Europe, it represents Mallorca (Majorca) and is a symbol of the whole of the Balearic archipelago. It is considered one of the most magnificent buildings ever built and encompasses almost all artistic styles since the Middle Ages.
It has its origins in the very beginnings of the Christian take over of the island back in the 13th century. In the autumn of 1229, King James I and his men sailed to the island to defeat the Arabs and it was on this crossing that the seed of the cathedral was sown. A storm raged so violently during the 3-and-half day journey that the young king feared for his life, so he made an oath to God promising, should his enterprise succeed, to erect a temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He was lucky, not only did he arrive safely but he also defeated the Arabs. And as a God-fearing Christian he did not forget his promise and quickly set about putting into practice his oath.
The decision for the site was obvious. The Muslims were already using the perfect position for their mosque. So by razing the mosque and constructing a house of God on its foundations, King James knew he would be highlighting the victory of Christianity over Islam. However, in doing so he would also create one of the great, all-time historical paradoxes; anyone kneeling at the altar in Mallorca’s cathedral (Majorca’s) does so in the direction of Mecca like a Muslim not, as should be the case for a Christian, towards Jerusalem.”
- Source: http://www.northsouthguides.com/mallorca_cathedral.html
Related articles
- The History of Palma de Mallorca Cathedral (www.northsouthguides.com)
- My articles about Norwegian Stave Churches (cardinalguzman.wordpress.com)
- Barcelona’s Beautiful Gothic “La Seu” Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eulalia (vinoconvistablog.me)
- Faith defense: Russians pray for Church (rt.com)
- 4 Travel tips from our Monday in Palma (satnavandcider.wordpress.com)
Wonderful post and pictures!
April 22, 2012 at 20:46
Thanks Madhu. You have some great Gaudi posts with Gaudi’s architecture too!
April 24, 2012 at 18:35
Fascinating stuff and really great photographs. Thanks for enlivening my Sunday.
April 22, 2012 at 21:24
Pleased to hear that I could enliven your Sunday
April 24, 2012 at 18:36
Great great pictures and article!
Thank you for sharing the history of the cathedral church. 
April 22, 2012 at 23:41
Thanks Inge. It sure has a fascinating history.
April 24, 2012 at 18:38
Great post! I loved those little back yards — all in all it gave me a different picture of Mallorca than I had in my mind’s eye before. I’m one of the few Swedes, who has never been to Mallorca! It started in the 60′s with the cheap charter trips, and I think everyone I know has been there.
April 23, 2012 at 03:06
You should go. There was a lot of interesting art shows when we were there, and the city has some really charming streets & places.
April 24, 2012 at 18:39
I love historical tales..what a lovely cathedral..that’s a place I would love to visit. Great pics.
April 23, 2012 at 07:25
Thanks Veeh. It’s a very nice island with lots of interesting places & things to do.
April 24, 2012 at 18:40
Enjoyed viewing these wonderful sites beautifully photographed.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
April 24, 2012 at 13:56
Thank you so much Francine.
April 24, 2012 at 18:42
when we were in Palma we were very impressed by the lot of stones perfectly used there …
April 24, 2012 at 14:25
We were impressed too. There are several examples of great architecture on Palma de Mallorca. The marina and the nightlife was also nice.
April 24, 2012 at 18:44
Love the photos of the Courtyards and/or shooting through an arch way. Thanks for the background info.
April 24, 2012 at 15:41
Those are my favourites too. Thanks for stopping by & commenting Mr. Diffley.
April 24, 2012 at 18:45
What a great looking Cathedral, especially like the detail shots.The narrow streets also have real character. Thanks for posting.
May 4, 2012 at 11:12
Thanks Daniel. The narrow streets were really charming.
May 6, 2012 at 19:56
I enjoyed this post with great photos and description behind them.
May 6, 2012 at 17:57
The most elaborate descriptions are ‘cut & paste’ from Wikipedia
May 6, 2012 at 20:00
Cesty na jih, jsou asi pro seveřana zajímavé, moje země je také krásná, fotky máte úžasné, Španělské ostrovy jsou tak pohádkové..
May 7, 2012 at 01:08
Tusen takk Anna. Ja, de spanske øyene er vakre og jeg skulle gjerne reist dit oftere, men det er så mange steder å se og så liten tid..
Skulle gjerne sett Tsjekkia også!
May 7, 2012 at 06:16