Capdepera Castle – prices and hours.

One day, I went with my mother-in-law to second-hand. The view from the second-hand spread out to the beautiful castle. I asked my mother-in-law, what is this castle? She did not remember. However, it’s no problem, I checked it at home. It makes an impression from a distance. Situated on a hill, enhanced, not protected by nature. A few days later, my boyfriend – Peter had a birthday. He got presents, we ate a birthday pizza. And we decided at 19 o’clock that we were going to visit the castle in Capdepera. You do not have to repeat it twice. We drive!

The Capdepera castle was already closed.

It does not matter! Capdepera is a beautiful city! It is full of narrow streets. Charming stairs, houses surrounded by flowers. I believe that the charm of the city look the best with the evening lighting. And so it is with Capdepera. It delights during the day, but even more at night. A very romantic place. Under the walls of the castle the locals sit in the evenings. They go there for a walk. And I’m not surprised, it’s really beautiful there. We did not manage to visit the castle, but we decided to return one day.

And we came back. A few days ago!

The weather was perfect. We got up early in the morning, got ready, got the equipment and ran on the bus! We were there a bit too early because the castle was open from 10 a.m.. So we went down to the city. It was Wednesday, so we hit the Wednesday market! In Majorca, a market is being opened daily in other towns. You can stock up on fresh vegetables and fruits, clothes and various souvenirs, and sometimes even animals. I admit that this is something that I like very much. The people here live as if they used to many years before. It is a complete escape from England. I do not conceal that such an idyllic life pleases me.

We returned to the castle at 10 o’clock.

Entrance ticket costs 4 euros per person. The price is not excessive. I think that it is very proportional to what You get on the spot. The castle is open all week. In the winter and in the summer. However, opening hours change.
November – March: 10:00 – 17:00
April – May: 10:00 – 19:00
June – September: 10:00 – 22:00
October – 10:00 – 19:00
The exception is January, when the castle is closed to visitors. And a few days a year, such as:
the third Thursday of May
6,8,24,25,31 December
Additionally, in the third weekend of May, the thematic market spreads out in the castle!

Capdepera castle is an archaeological site which continues to be excavated and researched.

The southern area of the wall, between the access gateway and Rei en Jaume gate, is the part with most remains still to be found. As time has gone by, a large amount of stones and carth were deposited here and here kept numerous remains of houses buried, some of which have been dug out and restored. Since ancient times the steep slope of the land has meant retaining walls have had to be built right around the area, sometimes using the original walls of the dwellings themselves, some visible fragments of which can be seen. Archaeological research allows us to get to know its history: how the inhabitants lived, how they survived attacks or how they defended themselves and also in time, to discover the walled town which we have under our feet.

The castle architecture wall, towers, gateways and ramport walk.

The walls and houses of the castle started to be built at the same time. Later on, four towers, also used as dwallings, were built at the part which was most easily attacked – the sides giving on to the east and south. At present there are two main gateways the portalet, which was for a long time the only one in use, and the portal del Rel En Jaume, which acted as a tower – gatewayand dates back to the late 17th century.

On the inside of the wall one can still see the rampert walk, which goes right rounf the perimeter of the area.

The present appearance of the castle has little in common with the way it originally looked. The fortiffied town was a maze of house and alleyways where the population hid in the event of attack, leaving their lands and belongings outside at the enemies mercy. Fear and angwish must have been the usual feelings of the inhabitants while the siege lasted.

The defence system of the territory

Along the coast of capdepera there used to be a chain watchtowers which were built from the 12th – 16th centuries. The earliest of these buildings have disappeared and the towers we can see today were built in the 16th century. The system of signals and codes consisted in linking a number of warnings, passed on tower by tower from the place where the enemy were first sighted in the direction of the City of Majorca, in order to organise its defence and send help out to any point in the island which was being attacked. in the 16th and 17th centuries the optical signals were made with smoke by day and with fire at night.

Miquel Nunis Tower

Defence tower dating back to the Moslem age (10th – 12th centuries). Located at a strategic point – the highest point on the wall – this dominated the view over Menorca chanell. With a square base, its original height of around ten meters must have been almost twice the present height. It is built with the “tapia” walling technique – walls made of pressed earth mixed with water set in a wooden formwork and air – dried. Some of the loopholes can still be seen. This is the original structure around which the fortified town was constructed. In 1231 the Capdepera Treaty with the Menorca Moslems was signed here. In the 19th century a flour mill was built inside this, with a round tower and a spiral staircase which is still preserved.

The legend of our lady of hope – “Mave de deu de L’esepranca”

The chapel used to have an image of Our lady of Hope (1569), a period when there were a great deal of incursions of Turkish pirates. A legend has it that when a large host of Maslems came up to the coast, the inhabitants of the Castle took Our Lady of Hope out in a procession around the area inside the walls begging her for protection. After a while a thick mist came up which spread over the area, making it difficult for the Moslems to regroup and make their attack. This event is remembered every 18th December, the day of Hope, the patron saint’s feast day.

The capdepera treaty

In 1231, two years after conquering Majorca, King Jaume I visited Capdepera with the aim of conquering Menorca. To ensure the Arabs’ sumbission he thought up the following ruse: One night he had fires lit at over three hundred points along this hilltop, so that they seemed to be preparing a great army when these were seen from the neighbouring island. Messengers informed the Saracens that this was the Christian king who was getting ready to invade Menorca. The operation was repeated for several evenings until the Saracens agreed to sign a document in which they submitted to the authority of King Jaume I, who thus ensured the Moslems’ capitulation with no bloodshed. This document is known as the Capdepera Treaty and it is thought to be the oldest peace treaty still kept today.

As you can see, Capdepera Castle has an interesting history.

Few people who visit the castle are actually interested in its history. Many of us go there to enjoy the beautiful views. We do not realize what nightmare people had to live through. How much blood was shed there. How hard it was for them in the winter and during the rainstorms. I am now sitting in a warm apartment, the wind blows outside the window and it is raining. In spite of everything, I can afford not to leave my home. I do not have to do anything. I’m warm, I drink warm tea.

And I do not appreciate what I have.

People in those days could not rest. The roles in the castle were divided. Every day meant work. Everyone had an assigned role that he had to do. Otherwise it would not be warm, there wouldn’t be food, water, homes, children. Sometimes we break down with trivialities. I can not imagine that people in those times would care about things which we care too much now.

I heartily recommend visiting the Capdepera Castle.

And not only. The whole city is beautiful. The surroundings of the castle are very picturesque. The whole city is one big history. It is definitely worth going there. In addition, a display of owls and birds is organized in the castle. The carer is a kind lady who talks in very intresting way about these wonderful birds. I even remember that the owls are seeing panoramic! They can also “turn off” one eye to rest, and use the other. It sounds funny, but an owl can turn off part of its body to be more efficient. Some of the birds can see clearly up to 5km! It is easy for them to track down the prey. Birds can be viewed up close and at the same time You can ask millions of questions to the lady. Great experience, we recommend it!