Map - Manacor

Manacor is a town and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second largest town in Mallorca, after the capital of Palma. The municipality has tourist areas such as Porto Cristo, site of the famous Caves of Drach, and Cales de Mallorca. Manacor has one of the busiest street markets on the island, held every Monday morning. Manacor is famous for high-quality wood furniture manufacture and artificial pearls.

The first indications of human occupation in the area of Manacor go back to 2000-1200 BC. Of this period are the artificial coves as burial places (cova de s'Homonet at Son Ribot, Mitjà de ses Beies at Sa Sínia Nova, etc.), and a type of construction similar to the naveta, either isolated or grouped in villages, which were used as living spaces (sa Marineta, s'Hospitalet Vell, etc.)

Of the megalithic Talaiot culture, the most outstanding constructions are s'Hospitalet Vell, es Boc, Bellver, as well as the constructions of Bendrís, Son Sureda and Sa Gruta. The origin of the town of Manacor goes back to the times before the Islamic dominance. In Porto Cristo, the submarine discoveries of objects show that it was a Roman port. The remains of the basilicas of sa Carrotja and son Peretó prove the existence of well-established Christian communities.

After the invasion launched by James I of Aragon, Nuño Sánchez received from him the land of Manacor. In 1300, James II granted Manacor a statute of municipality. The Torre del Palau and the fortification of some rural houses like the Torre de ses Puntes and the Torre dels Enagistes have been preserved from the beginnings of town planning at Manacor.

Although the etymology of the word Manacor seems to be Amazighe, the coat of arms (hand holding a heart) is originated by the phonetic approximation in the Catalan language, like other coats of arms around the island.

A native of Manacor, Simó Tort, was a character in medieval social conflicts.

Saint Vincent Ferrer came to Manacor in 1414. In 1576 the convent dedicated to the saint was founded, and after this the construction of the baroque church began. At the beginning of the following century the construction of the cloister began.

In 1879 the railroad line from Inca to Manacor was opened. About 1890 the construction of the new parish church Nostra Senyora dels Dolors began, located on the same place as the former churches. The most ancient of them had been documented in 1232 and had possibly been built upon an Arab mosque. The bell tower of the present church, an emblem of the town, measures 75 metres. In 1897 the first factory of artificial pearls, the famous Majorica, was founded. So Manacor became the business and industrial centre of Llevant. In 1912 Manacor received the title of town.

In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, there was an attempted landing of republican forces in the shores of Porto Cristo that was repelled by the fascist forces. The mayor of Manacor, Antoni Amer Llodrà "Garanya", was assassinated by the fascists.