• Oral traditions Oral traditions

    The Tramuntana area has generated an extensive, exceptional intangible heritage. Despite its intangible nature, or precisely because of it, it is a prime exponent of the local culture, closely identified with the rich culture of the region. The Tramuntana area has generated an extensive, exceptional intangible heritage. Despite its intangible nature, or pre [...]

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  • Rural estates (possessions) Rural estates (possessions)

    In Mallorca the name possessió (literally ´possession´) refers to a rural property or estate of agricultural characteristics, varying in size and including a small group of buildings called the cases de possession. This is the central core of an agricultural and livestock farm. The origin of the possessions can be traced back to the divisi [...]

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  • The Christian conquest and modern era (13th to 18th centuries) The Christian conquest and modern era (13th to 18th centuries)

    The Christian conquest of Mallorca in 1229, with the arrival of King Jaime I of Aragon (the Conqueror), led to the introduction of a European feudal system in the Moslem countryside and an end to the fragmented possession of farm holdings. Instead agricultural land became concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy, with the creation of rural estates called [...]

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  • Dry stone features Dry stone features

    The most outstanding construction technique relating to the Tramuntana Cultural Landscape is dry-stone walling. It is characterized by the use of left-over stone from fields – meaning stone that does not come from quarries – worked using no mortar or cement of any kind, and used to build different types of walls and many other constructional items, such [...]

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  • Maritime heritage Maritime heritage

    The north coast of the Tramuntana area, which is extremely difficult to navigate, contains numerous examples of maritime heritage related to surveillance of the coast, sailing and the exploitation of its relatively scarce fishing resources. They include coastal towers, lighthouses, dry docks and heritage linked to smuggling. Quarries for the extraction of ma [...]

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  • The evolution of the cultural landscape The evolution of the cultural landscape

    The Tramuntana cultural landscape has been and still is the result of the area's historical evolution, succession of cultures and ways in which the land has been used. Alternating periods of prosperity and shortages have left their mark on the landscape. Traditional agricultural and livestock farming has left a strong imprint on the area, through its irrigat [...]

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  • Archaeological heritage Archaeological heritage

    As many as 750 archaeological sites have been found among the 20 municipalities comprising the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, according to inventory records compiled by the Balearic Islands Government from 1990 to 1995. This figure may have risen following the discoveries made in recent years. Nevertheless, the limited accessibility and the scope of the [...]

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  • Religious ideas and beliefs Religious ideas and beliefs

    Not only have the Mallorcan mountains been considered a place steeped in energy and spirituality by writers and artists, even in a context with an inclination towards introspection as can be seen in some neo-Classical and Romantic poems. The different cultures that settled on the island of Mallorca over the years have attributed a sacred character to certain [...]

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  • The hydrological landscape The hydrological landscape

    The utilization of water - a scarce, precious resource in the climatic and cultural context of the Mediterranean basin - has given rise in Mallorca and the Tramuntana area in particular to the construction of a complex network of traditional architecture related to water-harvesting techniques. The aim of these constructions is to collect and harvest undergro [...]

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  • The dark centuries and Moslem rule (454 - 1229) The dark centuries and Moslem rule (454 - 1229)

    The looting of Mallorca by Vandals in 454 represented the end of Roman domination of the island and the beginning of a long period of which little or nothing is known. The virtual disappearance of the island's two Roman cities and a notable drop in human pressure on the environment due to the declining population are the most significant features of this per [...]

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  • Traditional lifestyles Traditional lifestyles

    Towns and villages are the community´s main source of social life. The economic, political, educational, cultural and religious activities of different members of society find their expression in houses, public spaces, social and power relations, ideologies and beliefs, everyday life, diet, attire and tasks that are performed. In the Tramuntana area, [...]

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  • Fauna Fauna

    The Serra de Tramuntana mountain range is among the areas least impacted by the recent rise in human activity in Mallorca. This condition has enabled the survival of many highly endangered species elsewhere on the island. Its rugged relief and diversity of flora have yielded some rather peculiar phenomena of evolutionary radiation, ultimately bringing about [...]

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  • Artistic expression Artistic expression

    The Tramuntana Mountains have acted and still act as a model and source of inspiration for many different artists – mainly painters and writers – since Valldemossa Monastery welcomed the musician Frédéric Chopin and writer George Sand from the winter of 1838 to 1839. They stayed in monastery cells that still conserve memories of their time [...]

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  • Physical and natural features Physical and natural features

    The Tramuntana landscape is the outcome of the application of the cultural know-how of civilisations that succeeded one another there on its physical and natural environment. In the case of the Tramuntana area, this natural environment is basically marked by four main characteristics: Abrupt, rugged reliefs, with an altitude of up to 1,450 metres very c [...]

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  • Customs and traditions Customs and traditions

    The different municipalities that make up the Tramuntana Mountains have contributed to the creation of a wide range of festivities and cultural events of a religious, pagan and commemorative nature. As well as traditional festivities, a wide variety of regular cultural activities have been created and integrated into the local festive calendar, forming part [...]

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  • Religious heritage Religious heritage

    When one is aware of the traditional religious dimension of Mallorcan society and the strong influence the Church has on it, it is easy to understand that the items of religious heritage preserved in the Tramuntana area are both numerous and diverse. The municipalities of the Tramuntana area feature many religious buildings, items and places of different arc [...]

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  • The climate The climate

    The main characteristic of the Mediterranean climate is none other than its summer droughts, since the hot period of the year coincides with a very low minimum rainfall, so the growth of vegetation is limited to a large extent by the scarcity of water in the soil. Thus by definition the Mediterranean climate is characterized by a shortage of summer rains lea [...]

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  • The geological substratum and reliefs The geological substratum and reliefs

    The geological materials that compose the Tramuntana area cover a period spanning the end of the Palaeozoic Era (Carboniferous Period) and the lower Miocene, that is to say a period of time of between 240 and 15 million years. In general, the mountain range is made up of sedimentary rocks, predominantly Jurassic limestone (Secondary era), which give rise to [...]

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  • Ethnographic, scientific and technical knowledge Ethnographic, scientific and technical knowledge

    In 1869 Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Habsburg-Lorraine and Bourbon of Austria (Florence, 1847 - Prague, 1915) arrived in Mallorca, becoming known locally as s´Arxiduc. He was so captivated by the beauty of the north coast that in 1872 he purchased Miramar and gradually acquired most of the estates located between Valldemossa and Deià. He had the [...]

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  • Flora Flora

    Climatic factors as a whole and the predominantly limy nature of the island´s soil condition the distribution of vegetation in the Tramuntana area and the altitude of plant communities. Their varied vegetation responds fundamentally to their climactic differences, since the higher parts are cold, windy and wet, whilst the lower parts are drier and warm [...]

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  • Towns and villages Towns and villages

    In the Tramuntana area there is a wide spectrum of towns and villages, ranging from larger ones such as Sóller, Andratx and Pollença to small hamlets like Orient, Ullaró, Biniaraix, Sa Calobra, Llucalcari, Biniarroi, Binibona or Binibassí, also including other villages that are extremely interesting in architectural terms, for exa [...]

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  • From the first settlers to the fall of Rome (5000 BC - 454 AD) From the first settlers to the fall of Rome (5000 BC - 454 AD)

    The period between man's arrival on Mallorca and the fall of the Roman Empire represented the first changes of anthropic origin to a hitherto untouched landscape. The intensity with which man transformed the area during that period is clearly highlighted by the booming growth and decline of the Talayotic culture: a Megalithic culture that was also present in [...]

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  • Traditional know-how and techniques Traditional know-how and techniques

    Villages and towns, estates and paths in the Tramuntana were opportunities for communication and the interchange of products, ideas and knowledge. One of the most valuable treasures of the Tramuntana areas is its dry-stone construction work. This building technique, used since time immemorial, is clearly linked to a group of local craftsmen, who over the ce [...]

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  • An end to autarky (19th and 20th centuries An end to autarky (19th and 20th centuries

    The most noteworthy characteristic from the 18th century on was no doubt the end of Mallorca's traditional autarky, when the island began to form part of Spanish trade networks mainly to America. This led to technical improvements, the development of a manufacturing industry, and imports of food supplies. During a second phase, between the second half of the [...]

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The Consell de Mallorca finalizes the restoration of four sundials in the Serra de Tramuntana

Vice-President for Culture, Heritage and Sports, Joan Rotger, and Councillor for Presidential Affairs, Jaume Juan, today visited the publicly owned estate, Galatzó, to find out how restoration ...