Palma - Centro de historia

Mallorca is the largest island in the Mediterranean Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain. Mallorca is an extremely popular holiday destination. The Palma de Mallorca Airport, one of the busiest in Spain, is used by about 30 million tourists per year.

Palma is the political and economic center of the autonomous region of the Balearic Islands. Palma is a Roman foundation from the time the island was occupied by the Roman Empire in 123 BC. Almost half of the island´s population of more than 890.000 today live in Palma.

From Between 902 and 1229 the city was under Islamic control. It was conquered after three months of siege in December 1229 by the troops of James I of Aragon ( aka "Jaume el Conqueridor"). Palma became the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca. After Jame´s death, Palma became joint capital of the Kingdom, together with Perpignan. The Aragonese expanded the city, so that at its heyday in the 16th century it had around 40,000 inhabitants.

The Santa Margarita monastery originally dates back to the 13th century and is one of the oldest Christian monuments in Mallorca. It was converted into a military hospital and by now hosts the "Centro de historia y cultura militar de Baleares".