La Trapa
La Trapa is the name of the ruins of a remote Trappist monastery on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca . The former monastery grounds are located in the remote valley of Val de Sant Joseph between the towns of Sant Elm and Estellencs in the extreme southwest of the Serra de Tramuntana mountains .
Since 1980, the 81 hectare site has belonged to the Mallorcan nature conservation organization Grup Balear d'Ornitologia i Defensa de la Naturalesa (GOB), which finances the facility entirely from private funds and donations. The island council of Mallorca has taken over the patronage for the restoration of the buildings. It is planned to set up the former monastery building as a hostel ( refugi ) on the GR 221 long-distance hiking trail . The abbreviation GR stands for Senderos de Gran Recorrido . However, this was not realized until 2018. In 2013 a forest fire destroyed a large part of the finca's vegetation.
History of the monastery
The French Revolution forced a group of Trappist monks from Normandy to flee to the Balearic island of Mallorca. They settled in the valley of St. Joseph , which is far away from inhabited places and on a rocky coast that is difficult to access . Funded by canon Pere Roig, simple farm buildings and a chapel were built. The barren soil was divided into terraced fields, and a well and a mill were created. However, the history of the monastery did not last long. As early as 1820 the order of La Trapa was dissolved and the monastery abandoned. Over time, the buildings were looted and left to decay. Today the monastery grounds are looked after by volunteer members of the environmental organization GOB.
reachability
The Vall de Sant Josep is accessible via a winding gravel road that stretches from Sankt Elm over the Coll de ses Animes mountain pass (365 m). The slope can only be used with off-road vehicles and is closed to general traffic. The GR 221 hiking trail connects Sankt Elm with La Trapa via a narrow mule track along the steep coast. This path requires surefootedness and a head for heights. It opens up beautiful views of the offshore island of Sa Dragonera .
Individual evidence
- ↑ La Trapa. (PDF; 1.1 MB) gobmallorca.com, archived from the original on June 17, 2012 ; Retrieved February 28, 2010 .
- ↑ Jonas Martiny: After the forest fire: "Doing nothing can be the best". Mallorca Magazin, October 10, 2013, accessed on October 19, 2018 .
Web links
- Site of the nature conservation organization GOB about La Trapa ( Memento from June 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (German; PDF file; 1.05 MB)
Coordinates: 39 ° 35 ′ 59 ″ N , 2 ° 21 ′ 38 ″ E