Mahón and its surroundings,
curiosities and stories
Our city – a brief introduction to our history 18th century – British and French domination, Es Castell – birth of an English city Sant Antoni and the north side Venice a unique story Cala Teulera, also called “Coward”
This is a brief history of our port, its history, and some unique places worth getting to know a little better. There are thousands of legends and folk tales recounting the thousand and one adventures that have occurred in our city. Here, I humbly share some of them with you.
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Our port is the first part of our tour, and in itself, it’s a spectacular beginning and end to our journey. Some of you will surely have arrived to the island by boat, but for those who haven’t been so lucky, our trip will offer a perfect visit to it, and this guide will provide some interesting information.
Our departure is scheduled for the area called Cala Figuera, now a large parking lot with a dock for nautical excursions, and until a few years ago the site of fuel depots and formerly the location of an old factory.
The Vergara factory in the Basque Country and possibly “La Industrial Mahónesa” from 1856, were responsible for producing and dyeing a type of very resistant cotton fabric from China called Nanking, the English ships transshipped the cargoes after passing the quarantine required at the time in our port and hence its name, the color used would be “indigo” and due to the type of fabric it could be used to wrap cargoes sent to other British colonies, one of them the USA, legend has it that from this resistant and inexpensive blue fabric, garments were made, work pants specifically “Jeans”.
The Golden Farm, today known as Sant Antoni, sailors will surely have noticed that on either side of the port there are two beautiful red-painted houses, with a very similar design and a fairly evident English colonial style, as it is no coincidence and also has its history.
Legend has it that during the British rule, the famous Lord Nelson resided on the island, his place of residence was the mansion “Golden Farm”, in the northern part of the port, according to legend Admiral Nelson coincided on the island with his lover Lady Hamilton, it seems that she resided in the house of the second admiral of the navy Admiral Collingwood, it is located on the cliff with road access at the exit of Mahón in the direction of Es Castell, mansion now known as “Hostal el Almirante”, in memory of Lord Nelson’s second in command and according to legend he visited it crossing the port in a small boat avoiding being discovered, we do not know if it is true but it is possible.
Another curious construction is a small cemetery by the sea, the English cemetery as it is known here, is located in the area called Binikim, shortly before the Cala Llonga urbanization at the northern exit of the port, really there lie more than just English people, the truth is that they are a minority, behind a white wall at the foot of the sea are the remains of unfortunate patients from the Bloody Island or Isla del Rey hospital.
For years at the beginning of the 19th century, naval squadrons from different countries, including the English, Dutch, and Americans, used to have their port of refuge here. Evidently, they suffered losses during their voyages and needed a non-Catholic place where they could provide Protestant rest for their sailors.
Among those present were many of American origin, among the illustrious was Nelson’s own valet, Edward Gayner, and another illustrious was Karl Von Bunsen of the German Navy who visited the island aboard the cruiser Kaiser.
Nearby, on the same shore, is the French cemetery, where those who died as a result of the conquest of Algeria were buried. This cemetery was abandoned years later and its residents relocated, but even today some vestiges of its walls can be seen.
Another curious case was the victims of scurvy on board the Russian navy at the end of the 18th century. In this case, a cave was created in the Cala Figuera area that we mentioned before and a hospital was even built in the La Mola area, which has now disappeared. Among the deceased was Admiral Prince Andrea Spiridof himself, who is still present today in the church that the Greeks founded in Mahón, today known as the Church of La Concepción.
Legends of the Castle of Sant Felipe and Es Castell, leaving the port on its south side the ruins of the magnificent castle built by the British with its famous governor Richard Kane at its head, many legends and stories about it, from the lost tomb of the governor himself, stories of battles with the heroic death of Philip Stanhope, captain of the ship Milford and many others.
One to highlight is that of a female soldier, after a long period of British rule it was conquered by the French for a period of seven years, the British recovered it, and in 1782 the Franco-Spanish alliance decided to recover the island.
During the battle and the long siege of the castle of Sant Felipe, a soldier of the Swiss regiment falls seriously wounded in the leg, his name is Charles Garain, a native of Vaud, he is quickly taken to the hospital but throughout the entire time he refuses to be undressed, given his attitude they cannot perform the necessary amputation and he dies.
When they went to prepare her remains, they discovered that she was actually a 24-year-old woman. After the discovery, the nuns dressed her in a Carmelite habit. I don’t know if, given her courage, it wouldn’t have been better to dress her as a soldier. After all, it was the destiny she chose, and hiding her condition caused her death. For days, she aroused admiration among the population for her courage, becoming a legend.
Finally, we recommend visiting the Es Castell military museum, located in its parade ground surrounded by red buildings, including its current Town Hall. In the museum you can learn more about the island and its port, see photos of an island that was dynamited last century and discover its history, antique weapons, models, including one I made during my military days, and discover many more fascinating details about the 18th century and its fortresses. Our port has always been the center of our history and a source of pride for our residents.
Castle of San Felipe
Leaving the port on the southern slope, next to the mouth we find the ruins of the old castle of San Felipe, built by the English in the 18th century. It was a fortress in the style of those built at the time. Once finished, the French landed on the island and conquered it easily as the flank was unprotected, with access from Cala Sant Esteve, where “Fort Marbrough” was later built. It is still standing and a visit is recommended.
Years later, the English recovered the castle and the island, but it didn’t last long; the French reconquered it with the help of the Spanish in a bloody battle with a siege lasting months and a tough final battle full of legends.
After so much suffering to recover the castle, they decided to destroy it so as not to have to conquer it again, an absurd solution that served to build the leper hospital with its stones and forced Queen Isabella years later to build the fortress of La Mola, in which she invested so much money and time that she was even forced to come to the island to check how the money was spent.
The port, besides being one of the most beautiful in our sea and also the second largest natural harbor in the world after the famous Pearl Harbor, has hundreds of corners with history, one of them being Isla del Rey, known as the place where King Alfonso III of Aragon landed, reconquering the island for Christianity.
Before their arrival, the island was known by the locals as Rabbit Island, we can imagine where the original name came from. Also, right next to it, there was an islet called Rat Island. Fortunately, that islet was blown up in the 1950s, and its history was rather grim.
In the 18th century, the islet was chosen by the English to build a military hospital, and since then it has been called “Bloody Island.” It is also quite obvious that the hospital remained active for a long time. Even my mother was treated there as a child. For many, it is still Hospital Island.
Today, fortunately, after being practically destroyed by neglect, it has been restored to its former glory thanks to a non-profit organization. In addition to other activities, it now houses the Houser & Wirth art gallery. We recommend a visit.
To finish a curious story, on the north shore of the port there is an area known as “Venice”, it is a small urban beach next to Cala Partío, legend has it that a local fisherman built a small house on some rocks at the edge of that cove with the area later called with such an original name, the fisherman boasted in front of all his friends for having the closest house to the sea that existed in the city, but apparently that motivated the imagination of another fisherman.
In a few months, on some rocks quite far from the coast, they built a small house with a walkway leading to it from the beach. Since then, the house and the nearby beach have been known as Venice.
It is also said that for a few years this house was rented for some summers to Richard Branson’s family, from that time and from his friendship with Mike Oldfield, comes the relationship of both with the island, in fact, on a trip by both along the north coast they visited Cala Pregonda, Oldfild was fascinated by the image of the islets of that place and used that image as the cover of one of his famous albums.
