Gardens S'Hort del Rei

Monuments | Palma de Mallorca

The great arch we can now see above the pond dates back to the old docks of the Muslim period which existed beneath the palace of La Almudaina, opening directly out into the sea. The arch is thought to date back to the 11th century. S'Hort del Rei was a medieval garden lying outside of the walls of La Almudaina which survived until the 19th century, when it was developed. At the beginning of the 14th century, during the reign of King James II of Mallorca, it enjoyed an age of splendour and was planted with fruit trees, flowers and vegetables. Some animals were also bred there, such as rabbits. In the 1960s, as part of the redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the palace of La Almudaina, the buildings that remained standing were demolished in order to create new gardens with a historicist feel, designed by the Mallorcan architect Gabriel Alomar. This architect combined traditional elements of the Mallorcan garden, such as the pergola, with others with an Andalusian influence, such as the artificial pond, with fountains reminiscent of the Generalife. It has to be said that this new layout has little in common with the medieval garden. The current avenue Antoni Maura coincides with what was the mouth of the water course of Sa Riera, which flowed down the Rambla, calle Unión and Borne, and divided Palma into "vila de dalt" or the old city (the cathedral side) and "vila de baix" or the lower city (the side with the districts of Sant Jaume and Santa Creu). Sa Riera was dangerous because of flooding. The flood that occurred in 1403 is notorious, causing thousands of people to lose their lives. The water course was diverted outside of the city walls for urban planning purposes in 1612, and today runs down the paseo de Mallorca.