Torres Gumara (El Temple)

This old fortress, known as “Gumara”, was built during the Moorish era (902-1231).

After the Catalan conquest of Mallorca, king Jaume I parted the island and gave it to those Knights Templar whom had supported him in the conquest. Over time, the Templar left the fortress and it fell in the hands of the order of Saint John of Malta.

In 1835, the first Carlist war broke out in Spain. In order to raise funds to support queen Isabella, prime minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, seized all monasteries and convents in Spain and sold them to private investors, who were promised profitable investments in Spain.

The fortress was left in a poor condition, with marks of pain. The Mallorcan poet, Tomás Aguiló, wrote a poem of this temple, expressing the many faces of this place, called “The walls of the Temple” (Los Muros del Temple).

Architecture of Gumara

The entry towers to the old compound remain from the old Muslim fortification, as well as part of the church. Romanesque-style elements of the Gothic church that were saved in the 19th century restoration include two side chapels (with typically Romanesque archivolts and simple sculptures), the door and the part corresponding to the atrium (porticoed gallery). The panel of Saint Bernar that comes from this church is on display in the Diocesan Museum. It is thought to be one of the oldest in Majorca and contains a representation of the scene of the Lactation of Saint Bernard and an exorcism