The Temple that’s still of use in Palma de Mallorca

Calle Temple number 9 is built over an archway that looks like a fortified door. And it is, it covers old Muslim towers and was the access point to the Temple fortress.

The Templars were granted property in reward for their help conquering Mallorca, and they established the Temple Castle in what was the Almudaina de Gumara, a Muslim fortress.

Here they built the Temple Church, one of very few examples of Romanesque architecture in Mallorca. The building’s atrium has been maintained down to this day; here we can see two fountains in the shape of a Templar helmet and a Mudejar coffered ceiling. The two chapels in the first section of the church are also Romanesque.

The Museo de Mallorca is home to the altarpiece named San Bernardo de Claraval, proceeding from the Temple Church.

At the end of the 19th century the Temple Castle took on a social use. In 1889 the Temple Home was founded to offer shelter to orphan girls and those in needs. The Trinitarian nuns still offer such help; there are different programs that help prepare the girls for adulthood.