Panoramic image of inside of Bellver Castle (Catalan: Castell de Bellver) in Palma linked to a map of Mallorca. The picture shows the colonnades of this circular castle around the central courtyard with a well in the middle. Great, ancient architecture.

Castell de Bellver - Palma de Mallorca visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Castell de Bellver' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Balearic Islands.

Bellver Castle (Castello de Bellver, Castell de Bellver) is a circular castle to the west of the old town of Palma on Mallorca. Built in the 14C by King James II of Mallorca, it is the oldest circular castle in Europe and is now a major tourist attraction. The castle sits on top of the Bosc de Bellver with spectacular panoramic views over the city.

Bellver Castle was built between 1309 and 1311, the largest of the Balearic Islands. Built in the 14th century for King James II of Mallorca, the Castell de Bellver was used as a military prison during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was again used as a prison in the 1950s, when many people where being prosecuted for their loyalty to the Republic during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 by the Franco regime.

The Bellver Castle is the only circular castle in Span. Around, and joined to, the central structure are three towers. A fourth tower stands to the north of the main structure separated by a distance of some 7m and linked to it by an elegant bridge built at a later period. In the basement is the famous S'Olla prison, used as late as the 1940s.

At the centre of the castle is an open circular courtyard surrounded by 2 floors of colonnades of arches. This courtyard is constructed on top of a rain tank with a central well. Some of the rooms around the courtyard contain Museu of the Ciutat, displaying the history of the island broken into four sections of Prehistory, Roman times, Islamic era and Medieval era.

The second story is formed by a gallery with 42 octagonal columns that support pointed. A chapel dedicated to Sant Marc is situated on this level as well as the Despuig collection.

Castell de Bellver
C. Camilo Jose Cela 17,
Palma de Mallorca
Mallorca