- Location: Es Pla Valley
- Height: 549 m above sea level
- Sightseeing: monasteries - Santuari de San Onorat, Santuari de Cura, San Turi de Nostra Señora de Gracia.
The Puig de Randa mountain range (Mallorca) is located in the center of the Plain Es Pla, 32 km east of Palma de Mallorca . The mountain is a quality asphalt road, and on the top there is a free parking lot. Why? Because Mount Randa - this is the focus of attractions: there are 3 ancient monasteries. The old Majorcan legend says that Mount Randa is held on 3 pillars - the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Kura, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Gracia and the monastery of Santoronat, and Mallorca stands as long as Randa stands, and the mountain stands as long as these shrines are preserved on it.
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Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Kura
On the top of the mountain Puig de Randa is the most ancient abbey of Mallorca - Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Cura. The monastery has existed here almost from the very first years after the conquest of Mallorca by King Jaime I - originally it was a hermitage with cells carved into the rock. With this monastery is associated the name of Ramon Ljul - one of the most famous missionaries in Europe, one of the first authors of books in the Catalan language, the founder of the philosophical doctrine "lulism." Ramon Lewl also opened a school for missionaries in which they could study Arabic and Latin. Ljul was killed in Algeria around 1315 - he was stoned.
By the middle of the XIX century the monastery fell into decay.
Today the monastery is under the auspices of the Order of St. Francis (to which it was transferred in 1913) and is one of the most famous places of pilgrimage. On the 4th Sunday after Easter, peasants come here to pray to God for a good harvest.
In the monastery there are 2 monks. There are 32 cells for pilgrims (they are equipped according to modern standards - each has a shower and toilet), a monument to Ramon Ljul, a church with a famous statue of the Virgin Mary Nostra-Senhora de Cura, before which often pray for healing.
It is worth visiting the monastery's shop, whose walls are decorated with ceramic paintings, and a library that stores many ancient manuscripts and paintings, and in an old church look amazing "attraction": instead of buying a funeral candle, you can throw a coin into a special device, after which a light simulates a candle, and burns for half an hour. Still here there is a small museum, the entrance to which is paid.
There is a restaurant in the former refectory of the monastery.
From the terrace of the monastery you can see Palma and Tramuntana , and in good weather - the rock with the castle of Alaro, the mountain Puig-Major and the mountain range Puig-d'Iinka with the city Inca on it.
Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Gracia
Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Gracia is also one of the most important places of pilgrimage. He when climbing a mountain meets on the way of tourists first. The abbey was founded in 1440 by the Franciscan Antonio Caldes.
The buildings resemble the swallows' nests - they also just "stick" to the rock. The cliff hanging over the monastery, as if protecting it.
In 1497 a chapel was built here, and in the 18th century it was expanded and completed. Today, you can see tiles depicting scenes on the birth of Jesus Christ.
Here is the church of St. Anne, in which you can see very remarkable frescoes.
From the observation terrace of the monastery you can clearly see the houses of Ljukmajor - a village located at the foot of the mountain - as well as Palma, the southern coast of the island and the island of Cabrera.
Hermitage de Sant Honorat (Ermita de Sant Honorat)
Hermitage is older than the monastery for about half a century. The monastery was founded in 1395 - so that the monk-reclusive Arnaldo Desbruglia could settle in it. Here and today there live monks-recluses. To visit tourists only churches are open, other buildings are inaccessible. Preserved and the dwellings of the very first monks - the inhabitants of the monastery.
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And at the very top of the mountain you can see a narrow "hole" in which the Bishop of Mallorca, Luis de Prades (who lived here for about 30 years) loved to indulge in reflections.