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Bellver Castle is a Mallorcan Gothic style castle. It is located about three kilometers from the city of Palma de Mallorca, on the island of Mallorca, belonging to the Balearic Islands of Spain. It was built at the beginning of the 14th century by order of King James II of Mallorca.
It is located on a mountain 112 meters above sea level, in an area surrounded by forest, from where you can see the city, the port, the Tramuntana mountain range and Pla de Mallorca; in fact, its name comes from the old Catalan bell veer, which means "beautiful view."
One of its peculiarities is that it is one of the few castles in all of Europe with a circular plan, being the oldest of these. It currently belongs to the Palma City Council and is home to the History Museum of the city of Palma, so it is open to the public.
The castle initially carried out the residential functions for which it was built, during the time of Kings Jaime II, Sancho and Jaime III of Mallorca. King John I of Aragon also lived there, fleeing the plague that attacked the continent (1394). In the 17th century it was the sporadic residence of some viceroys. As a fortification it also suffered different sieges. The first in the year 1343, during the campaign to reincorporate the kingdom of Mallorca into the Crown of Aragon, by Pedro el Ceremonioso; the next, in the year 1391, during the revolt against the Call; and the last, the year 1521, with the only assault in its history, during the Segona Germania.
The castle was ruled by a castellan. In the year 1408, King Martin the Human granted the lordship of Bellver to the charterhouse of Valldemosa. In the year 1459, the prince of Viana arrived in Mallorca to take possession of the island's castles, in accordance with the pact with his father, John II, who made him lord of Mallorca, although without granting him the lordship or ceding him the castle of Bellver.
As an enclosure, since the 14th century it was used as a prison, first for Queen Violante and the princes Jaime and Isabel and other supporters of King Jaime III, after his death in the battle of Lluchmayor (1349). During the War of Succession, by the Philipists, and, after the Bourbon victory, by the Austrians. Surrounding the castle and the keep is a moat.
