Aljub de la Misericòrdia: Palma's Hidden Gem

Step by step a tunnel leads you down into a world of its own. Dark at first until the eyes had time to adjust. In the meantime you sense the humidity of the former cistern. While an ethereal sound fills the space, blue and white lights illuminate the Aljub de la Misericòrdia.

What feels like a secular cathedral actually used to be a water reservoir. For a long time, almost nobody knew about this hidden gem in the heart of Palma. And until today, a year after the thorough renovation and opening to the public, the magic vault is still kind of an insider tipp.

The word aljub is of Arabic origin and so is the irrigation system that you can still find at some of the most interesting places on Mallorca. In magnificent estates like the Gardens of Alfabia and Raixa. Or in the Almudaina Palace where the Spanish conquerers didn’t have much use for Moorish innovation and turned the steam bath into a storeroom.

The aljubs were built to store rainwater for dry periods. The encrusted surface of the columns at the Aljub de la Misericòrdia indicates that the water used to fill the entire space. Now, a wooden walkway above the low waterline leads deep into the vault, allowing you to admire the reflections of columns and ceiling.

La Casa de la Misericòrdia was founded as a charitable institution in 1677. A cultural center today, it houses the public library with its beautiful summer readers’ garden and several showrooms for changing exhibitions. Most of them focusing on Mallorcan artists or works related to the Balearic Islands.