Santuari de Monti-Sion

In Mallorca, you often see that hill and mountain tops are symbols of the associated villages. Puig de Monti Sion, where the sanctuary de Monti Sion is located, is one of those symbolic peaks of the rural village of Porreres.

The sanctuary of Monti Sion is probably one of the most visited attractions in this area.

The temple is dedicated to Our Mother of Zion, where Zion’s hill outside Jerusalem, of great importance for the Christian faith. Zion is often referred to as ‘holy mountain’ as he occupies the mountain. Zion is often looked at as a place from which help will come. Referenced in the Bible also to Zion as Davis city, which King David captured.

Santuari de Monti Sion was founded and built by Franciscan monks in the year 1551, where they also founded a grammar and rhetorical school in the monastery. There should not be long before the school’s reputation spread all over Mallorca. Over several periods, gave Santuari de Monti Sion lodging to over 500 students at the same time, even in our days, will be quite impressive.

In the early 19th century, Spain saw a wave of secularization that Mallorca could not avoid. Santuari de Moni Sion was shut down as a direct result of this, and were left to decay.

Not until the early 20th century, the renovation work at the monastery began.

The road towards Puig de Monti Sion, offers some beautiful and very varying landscapes. Particularly the path between Porreres and Campos, you can get a glimpse of the historical finca Possessio Es Monjos, where you can also enjoy the beautiful leftovers of red almond meadows that are now replaced by green vineyards.

You reach Santuari de Moni Sion via a picturesque narrow stone path, approximately 2km, which twists its way around the hill. On the way up, you notice a stone cross, which was erected in 1497, before the monastery was built, a symbol of the pilgrimage path leading up here.

As you reach the top, you are rewarded with views of the area from the altitude of 263 meters.

A particularly good time to visit the monastery, is on the first Sunday after Easter where a huge parade of people from Porreres, are followed to the monastery accompanied by music and dance.