Beach indulgence in Son Servera
Son Servera owes its name to a Catalan nobleman. Or that’s what most historians assume anyway, because there was a certain Jaume Cervera – a knight from a good family – who was rewarded with land in the north-east of the island for his service at the side of King James I during the conquest of Majorca in 1229. Today, the municipality of Son Servera with the village of the same name has around 11,800 inhabitants. And it’s a popular location with tourists.
Real Estate Mallorca – Son Servera
Beaches – the main attraction
It’s music to the ears of beach fans who love sandy beaches and natural rocky coves when they hear about how many there are in the municipality of Son Servera. Among this array of beaches are Cala Bona, es Ratjolí, sa Marjal, es Ribells, Port Roig, Port Vell and part of Cala Millor, the “best bay”. This latter beach is 1.8 kilometres long and is shared between the municipalities of Sant Llorrenç des Cardassar and Son Servera.
The unfinished church
The village of Son Servera itself has a very distinctive attraction, namely the Esglèsia Nova, or the new church. This neo-Gothic church has no roof overhead – which it’s turned to its advantage. The church draws visitors as a popular subject for photos. It also makes an open-air venue par excellence, being fantastically suitable as an open-air stage for cultural events and providing an unusual setting. Building work lasted from 1905 to 1929 under the direction of Joan Rubió i Bellver, a disciple of the famous master of Catalan modernism, Antoni Gaudí. However, the new church was never completed, simply due to a lack of funds.
Summer solstice festival
Nonetheless, the village of Son Servera has not been left without a church because it still has the parish church of Sant Joan Bautista from the 16th/17th century, with a bell tower that once served as a defence tower. It overlooks the Plaça de Sant Joan and is, as the name indicates, dedicated to John the Baptist – the patron saint of Son Servera. To honour him, there is a big summer solstice festival every year, with a cultural programme and an agricultural and handicrafts fair. Every 24th June, nobody’s staying in at home or in their hotels and missing the big celebrations for Sant Joan.
Hiking and cycling on the Vía Verde
Around Son Servera is ideal terrain for hiking and cycling, even for the less practised. How about a nice walk from Cala Millor to Son Carrió, for example? It takes an estimated 2.5 hours or so to do this easy route of nearly ten kilometres. The tourist office in Son Servera will have the exact directions on hand. And you also have the Vía Verde going past Son Servera – the Green Way for hiking and cycling that follows the old railway line from Manacor to Artà.
Golfing, wining and dining
Golfers can tee off in Son Servera on one of the oldest golf courses in Majorca, which has been around since 1967. It’s an 18-hole course with palm trees, pines, carob trees, olive trees and wonderful views of the mountains and Cala Millor bay. The down-to-earth, informal club restaurant called Costa de los Pinos serves Majorcan/Spanish dishes such as the small, green peppers by the name of pimientos de Padrón – some of which can be really hot – and Andalusian-style calamari.
Make your dream home a reality
Would you like to own a property in the beautiful north-east of Majorca, about 70 kilometres from the capital city of Palma? Costa de los Pinos, for example, is a spot with sterling qualities, where many well-heeled proprietors have a summer residence. But of course Son Servera also has some great finds in the not quite so luxurious area. After all, there are different ways to make your Mediterranean dreams come true…