Bellver Castle
The Castell de Bellver (, castle of Bellver ') is a fortress which dominates Palma, the capital of Majorca.
The Castell located 112.6 meters above sea level, about 3 km west of the city of Palma de Bellver applicable in Spain and Europe as unique. Because unlike most defensive structures, it is circular. The castle is built around a courtyard, and the two surrounding the courtyard floors are rounded. The arcades of the lower floor are Romanesque. The portico of the upper floor is Gothic. The whole complex looks from the outside on guard closed and impregnable, while the two-story loggias surrounding the courtyard with its playful columns express pure joy of life.
Surrounded by a 4 -meter-wide moat, the castle has three towers that rise above the round parts, while the fourth tower that is Torre de l' Homenatge outside the round building and connected by a small bridge with the actual fortress is. Visitors can reach him through the terrace on the second floor, which was a strategic monitoring point. From there, the observer can see many miles inland and towards the sea. This has also given its name to the castle: Bellver means " beautiful view ".
In the bottom of Torre a trap door leads into a cave which only one side has a rectangular window. This cave was used as a dungeon, in which the prisoners were thrown from a height of 5 meters. Under the castle there is an artificial cave system, the Coves d' Ava II, which is caused by the degradation of the material during construction. The castle has been used over the centuries as a prison again and again. The most famous prisoner was at the beginning of the 19th century ( 1802-1808 ) of the Department of Justice and Minister Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos tax, which was liberated by the French. On the ground floor since 1936, the local history museum Palmas.