Legends of Mallorca

Mallorca is an island with a long history. And since ancient times, parents have been leaving a long tradition of stories to their children that have crossed generations and have become some of the most famous legends in the country.

Read on if you want to discover the legends of Mallorca that will tell you about secret tunnels, enigmas on the façade of the cathedral or dragons that still hide treasures in some of the most beautiful villages of Mallorca.

Legend of the Na Coca Dragon

We begin by getting to know the legends of Mallorca with the legend of the Drac de Na Coca (Na Coca dragon). It is said that in the 17th century, a terrible dragon lived in the area of La Seu and La Portella. The creature lived hidden in the sewers and only came out at night to feed on everyone it met, which is why the inhabitants were terrified.

One night, the brave knight Bartomeu Coc was walking through the streets of Portella on his way to his beloved’s house. But halfway there he heard some strange noises and decided to follow his brave instinct as a protector. It was then that he came face to face with the Drac de na Coca who was about to attack him.

The knight defended himself with his sword and killed the fearsome dragon. The next day, in the light of day, everyone could see that it was in fact a crocodile that grew large in the sewers.

Then the worthy victor took the dragon and gave it to his beloved as a token of his love and bravery. She embalmed it and preserved it to this day, which you can visit in one of the best museums in Mallorca: the Diocesan Museum.

In 2011 the town council decided to institute this legend as one of the festivals celebrated in Mallorca. During the festivities of Sant Sebastià, patron saint of Palma de Mallorca, a reproduction of this large crocodile is paraded through the streets of the city, throwing fire as it goes.

Legends of Sóller

The legends of Sóller are another of the best legends of Mallorca. They explain that in the past, in order to reach this town from Palma, you had to travel on foot or by carriage along a very winding and tiring route that took you up a mountain and then back down again. On the 16th of April 1912 the train connecting Palma with Sóller was finally inaugurated.

On the day of the inauguration, only a few families had the opportunity to buy their tickets to board the train and one of them was the young couple that this story is about. They had taken the train to Palma to begin their honeymoon, as they had just got married a few days before.

What the bride didn’t know was that her husband was having an affair with her maid and she discovered it the moment she saw the two of them at the far end of the train kissing. The bride’s blood began to boil and she attacked her maid, starting a fight that would end her life, as she fell overboard the train.

Today it is said that if you go out to the last carriage of the train from Sóller to Palma, you can still sense how you are judged by a woman with a disfigured body and face, dressed as a bride. Legend has it that if you are unfaithful, she will throw you off the train.

Mysteries and legends of Palma de Mallorca

Palma is one of the cities with the most mysteries in Mallorca, and these are some of the traditional stories best known to its inhabitants.

The prisoners on the walls of Medina Mayurqa

When the city of Palma was still owned by the Muslims and they were being besieged by Jaume I, they hung several Christian prisoners from the walls of the ramparts to scare the army and prevent them from shooting at them. 

What they did not know was that the hung Christians began to shout to their comrades to continue attacking without rest and the miracle was that none of them were wounded.

The xuetes ship

At the end of the 14th century, the Jews were still a very respected group with whom the Christians lived in Mallorca, until the assault on the Jewish quarter began and they were forced to convert to Christianity. Once they converted, they continued to be persecuted by the Inquisition for continuing Jewish practices.

A group of these Jewish converts, called xuetes, decided to escape one night with a boat to flee from the inquisition, which at the time was very well regarded. However, a storm prevented them from setting sail, so they had to retrace their steps and were imprisoned by the Christians.

The deceased of the Convent of Santa Clara

The Convent of Santa Clara dates from the 17th century and one of the main legends of Palma de Mallorca takes place inside it. 

At the time when the story begins, the body of a very important lady of the high Mallorcan nobility was being watched over inside the convent, who was to be buried the following day with a priceless ring.

One of the guards guarding the body during the night fell asleep and the other took advantage of his companion’s absent-mindedness to steal the deceased’s valuable ring. When he approached the body and began to remove the ring, he encountered many difficulties, so, driven by his greed, he bit the finger of the deceased to steal the jewel.

Automatically, the deceased woke up from the lethargy in which she was immersed and that was the way they avoided having buried her alive.

The secret passageway of Bellver Castle

This is another of Mallorca’s most interesting legends. Kings are the last people to flee a city when it is under attack, but this is not what Jaume II thought, which is why he ordered to build an escape route from the fortress that led directly to the sea, so that he could escape, leaving his population locked inside the walls. 

It is said that a few years later, when he was not yet king, his city had been raided and he had had to flee through the sewage system. When he built his own castle he said that this would never happen again, but that he would build a convenient passage to escape properly.

After a few years, Jaume II’s own brother attacked him to take over the kingdom, so he did not hesitate to take his things and use his escape route for the first and last time. It was never known what happened to him, as he was never seen again in Mallorca and the passageway disappeared with him.

The passageway has still not been found due to the poor state of the castle, although excavations are still going on. That is why this story has remained a legend of Mallorca, which probably no one will ever know if it was true.

Now that you know the best legends of Mallorca, you’re sure to have been bitten by the bug and are already thinking about your next holiday on this Balearic island. Don’t hesitate to take a look at our ROIG rentacar deals  if you need a hire car to get around the island or if you need any kind of transport.