The city of Valdemossa is located at the foot of the Tramuntana mountain range and very close to the bay of Palma de Mallorca, which is just a stunning view from here.
Valdemossa (Mallorca) is primarily known for the fact that it was here that for several months in 1838-1839, Frederic Chopin and George Sand. It was Valdemossu Chopin who called "the most beautiful place on earth" - despite the fact that most of the time he was here he was sick - the old tuberculosis became active again. And it was about Valdemossa that the writer said: "Everything a poet and an artist can imagine was embodied in this town" - and this despite the fact that she had to take care of her sick lover (feminist moods of Sand so shocked local residents that no one agreed to help her), and that her children were stoned by the local children, considering them "Moors" and "enemies of the Lord." It was here that her famous work "Winter in Mallorca" was born.
Walking through the streets of the town
Today the city of Valdemossa is also Bohemia's favorite holiday destination. Despite the fact that the town is quite small (just a little more than 2 thousand inhabitants - according to our notions in general "village"), he is very beautiful. We can say that the main attraction of the city are its streets - stone-paved, narrow, but neat. And necessarily decorated with flowers in pots that stand right in the streets, giving them an indescribable charm.
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Another original attraction is the tablets dedicated to Saint Catalina Thomas, who is the patroness of Valdemossa and the entire island of Mallorca. Such handmade tablets, made of clay and depicting scenes from the life of a saint, decorate without exaggeration every house in the city. If you look closely, you will notice that you can not find two identical tablets in the entire city!
One of the attractions is the house in which the saint was born and lived before she entered the monastery at the age of 12. It is located at Rectoria Street, 5.
It offers its visitors Valdemossa (Mallorca) and other attractions: the Cartesian monastery , the palace of King Sancho, the city church, the bust of Chopin.
The palace of King Sancho
The palace is a building dating back to the 14th century. It was built as the winter residence of the island's kings, but originally there lived monks who founded the Cartesian monastery - until the monastery itself was completed.
In 1808, the disgraced Spanish public figure and friend of the painter Francisco Goya Gaspard Hovelianos, who served a link here, lived on his territory.
The palace is reminiscent of a Roman palazzo. Here you can admire the interiors, including - magnificent tapestries. In addition to the function of the museum, the palace today performs the function of a concert hall - classical music concerts are held here.
Monastery of La Cartoixa
A kind of face of the city of Valdemossa - the monastery of La Cartoixa (la Cartuja), which was founded in the XV century by the arriving to Mallorca by the Cartesian monks.
In 1835 the Cartesian monastery of Valdemossa was closed according to the decree of the Central Government. At first it became the property of the state, and later all its premises, except the church, were put up for auction. Residents of the town bought it into a warehouse, and since then the cells were rented out to the visitors who visited the city. By the way, it was in the cell of the monastery that Sand and Chopin lived. In it, and now is a piano, written by a composer from Poland.
Most of the buildings of the monastery belong to the XVIII-XIX centuries, but some of the buildings were preserved from the moment of erection of the monastery. In the monastery it is worth seeing monastic cells, a pharmacy and a neoclassical church painted by Francisco Bayeu, the brother-in-law of the great Goya.
Church of St. Bartholomew
The construction of the church of Sant Bartomeu was begun even before Majorca was conquered by the Aragonese King Jaime I - in 1245, and finished almost five centuries later, at the beginning of the 18th century.
Chopin's Nose and Chopin Festival
In honor of Frederic Chopin, who created here some of his famous polonaises and preludes, Valdemosse hosts an annual international festival of his name.
A bust of Chopin, installed near the entrance to the monastery, is very popular with tourists who necessarily rub his bronze nose, the color of which because of this is markedly different from the color of the rest of the bust.
Port of Valdemossa
The port of Valdemossa is quite tiny, but its wonderful landscape evokes a feeling of admiration and pacification. A rather narrow and winding road leads to the port. Today it is one of the few ports in the northern part of the island, equipped for fishing boats and small - up to 7 meters in length - yachts. From the town to the port - about 6 km.
Bun: tasty sight of the city
Another undoubted landmark of Valdemossa is a bun coca de patata. This is a traditional Majorcan dish, but it is cooked most deliciously on the island here. If you visit the city - be sure to try the buluts, washed down with fresh orange juice.
How to get there?
You can go to Valldemossu by buying an excursion. However, if you want to take a walk in the streets of this small but very beautiful city, we will tell you how to get to Valdemossa on your own.
From Palma de Mallorca, you can take a regular bus number 210. He leaves from the underground bus station in the Plaza de España, the start of the traffic is 7-30, the break between flights - from one hour to one and a half. The duration of the trip is about half an hour, the cost is about 2 euros, the payment directly to the driver.