SCENE OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE EASTER WEEK IN MALLORCA

The Knights Templar were the first owners of this mount, which today hosts one of the most impressive traditions of Mallorca’s Easter Week celebrations.

El Calvari not only offers superb views of Pollença, but is also one of the town's most iconic locations thanks to its impressive stairway. It consists of 365 steps, one for each day of the year, and is flanked by cypress trees and fourteen three-metre-high crosses, evoking the ordeal that, according to Christian tradition, Jesus Christ suffered on the way to his crucifixion on Mount Golgotha.

In memory of this event, on Good Friday the Calvari steps are the setting for the so-called 'Davallament' (Removal from the Cross), one of the most important events of Mallorca's Easter Week celebrations, where an invaluable carving of Christ is removed from the cross and solemnly paraded down the steps to the Church of Virgen de los Ángeles (patron saint of Pollença). The entire ritual is performed in complete silence and lit only by the torches carried by members of the different brotherhoods.

The Knights Templar

But this place is also intrinsically linked to the time spent in Mallorca by the Knights Templar (1), who were the first owners of this mount after receiving swathes of land in northern Mallorca in recognition of the help they gave to King Jaime I of Aragon during the Conquest of Mallorca (2) in 1229. In this area of the island they became true feudal landowners, even administering justice in places like El Calvario, where they built gallows that could be seen from the entire town. In fact, the first name of this place was 'Puig de les Forques', which translates as Mount of Gallows.

(1) Knights Templar: This is the name given to members of the Poor Fellow Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, also called the Order of the Temple, one of the most famous Christian military orders of the Middle Ages. It was founded between 1115 and 1120 by French knights in order to protect the lives of Christians who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem after its conquest. The growing power of the Templars, who wore distinctive white robes with a red cross, aroused strong suspicions and was precisely the reason behind the decree issued by Pope Clement V in 1312 to dissolve the order. Today, a veil of mystery still surrounds the Order's secret activities and ceremonies.

(2) Conquest of Mallorca: Determined to conquer Mallorca and annex it to the Crown of Aragon (which back then included present-day Catalonia and Aragon), King Jaime I landed in the town of Santa Ponsa (southwest of Mallorca) in September 1229 with a 150-strong fleet of warships and the intention to expel the Moors from the island. After fierce fighting, he managed to take hold of the then capital Madina Mayurqa, now Palma de Mallorca, on 31st December, even though some Moors remained in Mallorca and stood strong in the Sierra de Tramuntana until the complete conquest of the island in 1332.