Palma Cathedral

View from the south-east

Presbytery designed by Gaudí

Altarpiece in the Corpus Christi Chapel (dated 1626–41)

The Cathedral of Saint Mary in the Spanish port city of Palma , the capital of the Balearic island of Mallorca , is the episcopal church of the Diocese of Mallorca . It is popularly called simply La Seu , the Catalan expression means "the bishopric".

Building history

After the liberation from the Moors , King Jaume I began building an Islamic mosque on the site ; the foundation stone was laid in 1230. Under Jaume II , the son of the conqueror, the actual construction of the cathedral began in 1306 from the main apse . It should also serve as a mausoleum for the Mallorcan royal family; Jaume II. And III. are buried here. The construction of the nave was completed in 1587, the main portal was consecrated in 1601. Work on the main facade began in 1852 and was not finished until the beginning of the 20th century.

The cathedral is 109.50 meters long and 33 meters wide, the main nave measures 75.50 meters in length and 19.50 meters in width. The two side aisles are each 86 meters long and 10 meters wide. The 14 pillars on which the vault rests are 30 meters high, the main nave is 44 meters high and the two side aisles 30 meters each. The presbytery with the choir, also called the royal chapel , is 34 by 16 meters. Despite the lack of "real" towers, the cathedral is one of the most important buildings of the Gothic style.

The round window, built in 1370 and glazed in 1599, has a diameter of (probably) 12.55 meters and is often referred to as the “largest Gothic rose window in the world” due to the window area of 97.5 m². In addition to its size, its location (apse) and the shape of the struts ( Star of David ) also make it out of the ordinary. In terms of diameter, however, it is surpassed by the portal rosette of the Strasbourg Cathedral (over 15 m) and probably also by the rosettes built in 1250 and 1260 on the north and south front of the Notre-Dame in Paris (each 12.90 m). In the cathedral of Palma there are five more rosettes (with tracery in Franco-Flemish style) and 60 artistically designed glass windows.

Many architectural styles have left their mark on the cathedral since the Middle Ages . At the beginning of the construction, the Gothic architectural style was followed in its purest form, as is known from Catalonia and southern France. A more ornamented development of this style can be found in the side portal that faces the sea. The alms portal on the opposite side already followed the aesthetic feeling of the late Gothic . The Renaissance, with its Plateresque style typical of the Hispanic region, and Mannerism found their way into the 16th century. Baroque elements can also be found in many of the altarpieces in the side chapels , for example in the chapels Immaculate Conception , St. Sebastian , St. Benedict or St. Martin . In the Corpus Christi chapel (Capilla del Corpus Christi) there is a 14 m high altar retable, created from 1626 by Jaume Blanquer (1581–1636), with a central depiction of the Last Supper . The classicism is the formative style of the Baptistery and the Mausoleum of the Count of Romana .

The famous architect Antoni Gaudí also contributed his art in the style of Catalan Modernism (Art Nouveau) through his restoration and decoration work between 1904 and 1914 on the initiative of Bishop Campins . Gaudí also made radical structural changes: the choir was relocated from the center of the nave and incorporated into the royal chapel; the bishop's chair was renewed and the faithful were given a clear view of the high altar. Antoni Gaudi designed a cavity under the choir stalls so that the singing can spread throughout the cathedral, even without microphones. The room is head-high and acts like a resonance box . Only about 100 years later, during renovation work, was the cavity rediscovered.

As a contribution to the 21st century, the Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló, born in 1957, redesigned the chapel of the Holy of Holies in the right aisle, including his work on the miraculous increase of bread and fish .

Furnishing

The cathedral's museum has been housed in two chapter rooms and on the first floor of the bell tower since 1932. There is also the grave of the antipope Clement VIII († 1446), who after his resignation, from 1429, officiated as the legitimate bishop of Palma.

The cathedral has a collection of nine bells from five centuries. Among the European episcopal churches, the bells occupy a prominent position: four out of six bells date from 1312; the other two were re-cast in 1642 and 1991. The big bell, called N'Aloi , is only rung on the most festive occasions and, at around 4,600 kilograms and 2 meters in diameter, is not only one of the largest bells in Spain, but is also the largest movable bell in the country.

organ

View of the great organ

The large organ is the work of the Mallorcan organ builders Gabriel Tomàs and Josep Bosch from the late 18th century, built in the years 1795–1797 in the existing organ case by Pablo Rosell, which dates from 1497. In 1929 the instrument was modernized, u. a. The manual and pedal range was expanded and the second manual was added. The instrument was last restored in 1993. It has 31 stops on two manual works and a pedal.

I Organo Mayor C – g ³
01.	Flautado Mayor 0	16 ′
02.	Flautado	08th'
03.	Flauto	08th'
04th	Violón	08th'
05.	Salicional	08th'
06th	Octava	04 ′
07th	Docena II	02 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
08th.	Quincena II	02 ′
09.	Decinovena	01 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
10.	Corneta Mayor
11.	Corneta Minor

(Continuation)
12.	Trompeta Magna (D) 0	16 ′
13.	Trompeta Real	08th'
14th	Clarín Claro	04 ′
15th	Chirimía Alto	04 ′
16.	Shawm (B)	02 ′
17th	Eanos	04 ′
18th	Shelf (B)	08th'
19th	Regaal (D)	16 ′

II Organo recitativoC-g ³
20th	Violón	16 ′
21st	Flautado	08th'
22nd	Flauto Armónico	08th'
23.	Violón	08th'
24.	Viola di gamba	08th'
25th	Voz Celeste	08th'
26th	Octava	04 ′
27.	Tapadillo	04 ′
28.	Trompeta Real	08th'
29	Fagot y oboe	08th'
30th	Voz Humana	08th'