Manacor, Mallorca - A Guide to Sights and area

Manacor is a municipality in Mallorca comprising the town itself, the holiday destination of Porto Cristo, Sa Marina, Son Macià, s’Illot, Cala Morlanda, Cala Romantica, Cala Mendia, Cales de Mallorca and Cala Murada. Manacor is the second most important industrial center in Mallorca, mostly renown for the Majorica pearl factory and the furniture business, which are the most exported products of the area.

History of Manacor

The prehistory and Talayotic culture
The Roman and Byzantine period
The Islamic period
The Reconquista
The foundation of the town
Revolta Forana
The 16th to 18th century
Sa Llorençada and the agricultural upswing of the 19th century
The 20th century

Prehistory and Talayotic culture

The first signs of human occupation within the current municipality borders of Manacor dates from around 2,000 BC. From these early days, the sites of cova de s’Homonet Vell, Mitjà de ses Beies and sa Ferradura are the most interesting, as they were presumably used for funerary purposes. Other interesting sites to have a close look at, are those of s’Hospitalet Vell and Sa Marineta, both grouped constructions.

From around 1,200 BC, the Talayotic culture arrived in Mallorca and Menorca, presumably inspired by arrivals from the eastern or southern parts of the Mediterranean. It is likely that the people of the Talayotic culture consisted of a mix of Phoenicians, Etruscans, Greeks and indigenous people. The people from the east were exploring new opportunities in the Mediterranean district, looking for places to settle, markets for trading and to find materials such as metals which the western Europe was rich of. Around 575 BC, Phocean people (ancient Greek colony located in current day Foça, Turkey) had control of much of current day Catalonia and southern France, a territory they kept until the 3rd century BC when it was conquered by the Romans. One of the best examples of this, is seen in the ruins of Empúries, a city that was trading with the Balearic Islands.