“Articles are just class. I was in Mallorca, I saw Bellver Castle, which stands on a hill in Palma. It is said to be a one-of-a-kind round castle. If possible, tell us about it. I liked it very much.
(Head)
Europe, as we know, in the Middle Ages was a real "country of castles", where more than 15 thousand of them were built. But castles in Europe were different. The earliest (of those that we know) - the castle of Douai-la-Fontaine in the French city of Angers, was built in the middle of the 10th century - that's how long ago. But such castles were very simple, and their main part was the donjon tower.
This is how Bellver Castle is seen from afar by those who come to the island of Mallorca.
Some of these towers were very large, for example, the famous Tower of London, translated from English simply as "tower". But there were other dungeons, for example, the tower of the Counts of Flanders in Ghent, which began to be built in 1180. Below there was a dungeon, a kitchen and rooms for guests, above - a chapel and halls, and this is what is interesting and even funny: its upper gallery with watchtowers and battlements was completed only in the 19th century for the needs of tourists. Before that, apparently, there was no need for them!
To see the castle, you need to climb the mountain to it!
The huge round donjon in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne was built by King Philip II Augustus of France in the 12th century. However, such castles still required a courtyard, one tower was not enough! This is how the so-called "concentric castles" appeared, one of which was Beaumaris Castle in England.
Beaumaris Castle in England is a typical "concentric castle".
But noble feudal lords and sovereigns needed castles not only for war. For example, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Frederick II used the octagonal castle of Del Monte in Italy as a kind of hunting lodge, and the case when the castles were built with a similar purpose is far from the only one!
For example, a castle could be either a winter or a summer residence. Here is a summer residence for myself in 1300 - 1311. ordered to build the Spanish king Jaime II. It stands on a mountain 112 m high at a distance of 2.5 km from the center of Palma. It all began with the fact that his father, King of Aragon Jaime I annexed Palma to his possessions in 1229, and then in 1235 he was also crowned the crown of the island of Mallorca. When, after his death in 1276, his sons divided his possessions, his youngest son Jaime II received the title of King of Mallorca.
A model of the Bellver Castle, where its unusual architecture is clearly visible.
The construction of the Jaime II castle was entrusted to the architect Pere Salva, who completed the construction of its main buildings already in 1311. The interior was designed by the artist Francisco Cabalti, who has already tried to please his crowned customer. For the construction of the castle, local sandstone was used, which was mined right at the foot of the hill on which it was erected. It is believed that its prototype was the ancient fortress Herodium, which stood on the West Bank of the Jordan River, which also had a round shape and one main large tower and three small towers. Less than 30 years later, in 1343, the castle was attacked: King Pedro IV of Aragon, conquering Mallorca, decided to start with it. Then, in 1344, Mallorca was annexed to Aragon, and the castle began to contain supporters of its last king, Jaime III, including his widow and sons. In 1391, a peasant uprising broke out on the island, and the castle was again besieged, but this time its defenders managed to successfully fight back. And in 1394, the king of Aragon, Juan I, escaped here from the plague, the epidemic of which swept Europe and reached Spain. Well, now that we have at least in general terms got acquainted with the history of this unusual castle, let's take a walk around it, as if we were visiting the beautiful city of Palma in Mallorca!
Here is the courtyard from which we will begin our excursion. The courtyard is located inside the citadel, which has a diameter of about 50 m. A two-tiered gallery runs along its entire perimeter. The arches of the first floor are round. They are supported by 21 columns, while the Gothic arches of the second are supported by 42 octagonal columns. This is a typical Italian style - a combination of antiquity and gothic, which is both beautiful and rational.
In the middle of the courtyard there is a well that supplied the castle with water.
But this is the same courtyard, but turned into a theater hall. We can say that this is just an ideal place for staging Shakespeare's tragedies: "There is no story sadder in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet." No decorations are needed in this place!
We go around the courtyard along the gallery and if someone is tired, he can sit down …
On the second floor, the ceilings are still typical of the Gothic type. The reliability and durability of such a structure has been proven by time itself!
In the 17th century, the castle was modernized for the installation of artillery. In 1713, a covered bastion was also completed on the north side. And in the 18th century, the castle turned into a prison for important political criminals. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish politician and writer Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos languished here, who also compiled its first scientific description. French physicist François Arago, accused of espionage, was also hiding here. So we can say that this is partly the "Spanish castle of If", even if there are not so many famous names associated with this castle.
Now we go up to the roof and see that it is completely flat, that it offers a wonderful view of the city and the port, and that there is simply no better place for the defense of the castle.
The width of the roof is such that you can ride a bike freely on it.
Three towers are attached to the massive citadel, similar in plan to the letter U, and a donjon tower, to which from the roof (!) - this is truly an architectural delight, there is an arched bridge seven meters long. The height of this tower is 25 m, it has four floors and is oriented strictly to the north. The diameter of the tower is 12 m, and it is crowned with a ring of 38 mashicules. The height of the lowest floor, in which the dungeon was located, is five meters. Three large horseshoe-shaped towers are oriented on the other three cardinal points, and 4 small towers indicate, respectively, northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast directions.
In 1931, the castle was taken over by the municipality of Mallorca to be turned into a museum. But in 1936 it was again transformed into a prison. Now for 800 nationalist rebels. And they also laid the highway leading to the castle today. In 1976, the Museum of the history of the city was opened there, starting with the first settlers of Palma and up to the Middle Ages. There is also a collection of sculptures that belonged to Cardinal Despuch. The inner courtyard is skilfully adapted for a variety of recreational activities. For example, it hosts a classical music festival with the Balearic Symphony Orchestra.
Now let's explore a little more of its, so to speak, defense functions. Look: the citadel of the castle is surrounded by a dry stone moat, just like the free-standing keep, but the castle also has an outer wall with loopholes for artillery, and behind it there is another moat!
There he is, this moat, lined with stone on all sides!
The bridge to the keep is very narrow and there is a loophole for the riflemen just above it.
The door is rather narrow and, standing under the mashiculi, it cannot be broken in any way, because they will simply throw stones at you from above!
On the first floor of the two-story citadel there were utility rooms and servants' rooms. There are only narrow loopholes in the wall, running along the entire perimeter. The second floor housed the royal chambers, the kitchen and the chapel. The stairs connecting the floors are spiral, which also prevents the attackers from going upstairs, but the defenders, on the contrary, are very helpful.
Interestingly, there used to be battlements along the perimeter of the castle's roof, but for some reason they were removed during the reconstruction carried out in the 17th century.
The main entrance to the citadel of the castle is located next to the northwest turret, and a bridge in the shape of the letter L leads to it, so whoever enters the castle must turn his back to its main tower. There is another entrance, at the southwest turret, and it is arranged in the same way.
As already noted, the castle houses a museum decorated with preserved mosaics …
… And in which you can see these sculptures and much more!
In conclusion, it should be said that due to its location on a hill for the primitive artillery of the 15th - 16th centuries. this castle was a tough nut to crack, since the cannons of that time had to shoot at it from the bottom up. But, of course, with the progress of artillery, any castle, even the most perfect, became vulnerable to it.
A medieval heavy bombard is firing at the castle. Drawing by a contemporary artist.
