Castell del Rei, Majorca
Facts and practical information
The Castillo del Rey is a rock castle located on the Castillo del Rey mountain in the Ternelles Valley, in Pollensa and is 492 m high.
In Roman times, it was already used as a fortification and in the Muslim period, it was, with the Castle of Alaró, the last stronghold of resistance to the troops of James I of Aragon who invaded Mallorca in 1229. They resisted until March 1231.
Another important historical event that took place there was the resistance offered by the last stronghold of those loyal to the King of Majorca, James III, in 1343, during a three-month siege, when he had already lost his kingdom and it had been annexed by the Crown of Aragon under Peter the Ceremonious.
The castle was used as a watchtower rather than as a defensive enclosure. It was abandoned in the 18th century and deteriorated. It is currently in ruins, being privately owned and forbidden to enter.
Currently the road leading to the castle is a source of controversy. Being a public road, the owners have managed to restrict its access.
The poet Miguel Costa y Llobera wrote the poem Castillo del Rey in 1896. In oral pollencí: "U castell d'u rei".
Majorca
Balearic Islands