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Església de Sant Miquel de Llucmajor
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The history of the Sant Miquel church
The parish church of Llucmajor is dedicated to Sant Miquel (Saint Michael). It was constructed on top of a former Gothic church erected in 1386.
Construction of the current Sant Miquel church began in 1784, at the initiative of the pastor of the time. The church was completed somewhere between the middle and the end of the 19th century, works that was delayed multiple times due to difficulties and hardships. The year 1866 appears in the greater vestibule, so it would make sense to think this year was the time of completion.
Sant Miquel is the result of several architectural projects carried out throughout the years. Some of the most significant being those of architect A. Mesquida and fray Miquel from Petra from the 18th century, and those of Isidro Gonzáles Velázquez and Joan Sureda from the 19th century.
The current church preserves an old former Baroque chapel, which is believed to have been a part of the original church, however, this chapel was adapted to the neoclassical style, eliminating the Baroque architectural elements it had.
Two major construction phases of Sant Miquel can be distinguished:
1. The presbytery, the transept and the side portal, which are defined as the base of the church, still carrying Classicist and Baroque elements.
2. The main nave, the dome and the bell tower in Neoclassicist style, which are projects of Madrid architect Isidro González Velázquez.
Inside the church, you will find twenty altarpieces, of which five are made in Baroque style. The remaining fourteen are follow the Neoclassical guidelines, and most of these were made in the 1840’s.
In the Sant Miquel church rested the lifeless body of King Jaime III, before it was taken to the cathedral in Palma. Jaume III was killed in the Battle of Llucmajor against the royal troops of Aragón, and Mallorca lost its status as a kingdom and was annexed to the Crown of Aragón.
Music in Sant Miquel
Music and has always been a great part of Sant Miquel and Llucmajor. Actually, the previous church already had a choir which was constructed in 1594.
The organ of Sant Miquel goes all the way back to 1414, when Pere Granyera started building organs in Llucmajor. In 1549, the old organ was rebuilt and enlarged by the organ builder Gaspar Roig.
The current organ was built by Swiss organ builder, Ludwig Scherrer, in 1804, and was originally made for the parish of Santa Eulalia in Palma. In the beginning of the 20th century, the organg was dismantled and reassembled in its current location, with parts of the original organ.
The facade of the organ was created by local clergyman Miquel Salva Llompart with typological parts of the Majorcan classical school and parts of European origin. The instrument is baroque in character, with three keyboards. It was restored in 1984 by the German Gerhard Grenzing.
Church museum of Sant Miquel
The church museum was inaugurated in 2004 with the purpose of preserving and exhibiting the arts and objects collected during the 750 years of Sant Miquel’s existence.
The museum has seven rooms, each dedicated to a different theme. You will find the museum by the rectory, which by the way is highly influenced by the manors of Palma from the 18th century, with its inner courtyard, staircase, balcony and arches. If you have visited some of Palma’s amazing courtyards, you know why this is interesting.
The exhibition spaces are:
1. Gothic art
2. Gothic to Neoclassical
3. Goldsmithery
4. Private chapels
5. Sacristy
6. Main Sacristy
7. Old Sacristy
