Bellver Castle Bellver Castle ( ) is a Gothic style castle on a hill 3 km northwest of Palma on the Island of Majorca , Balearic Islands , Spain . It was built in the 14th century for King James II of Majorca , and is one of the few circular castles in Europe . Long used as a military prison throughout the 18th to mid - 20th century , it is now under civilian control , being one of the main tourist attractions of the island , as well as the seat for the city ' s History Museum . Origins and Evolution . The castle ' s plan , circular floor with round towers attached to it seems to have been inspired by the upper complex of the Herodion in the West Bank , which is also circular and has a large principal tower and three minor towers as well . They are attached while the principal one is coupled to the complex by a high bridge over the surrounding moat . The main part of the fortification was built by architect Pere Salvà , who also worked in the construction of the Royal Palace of La Almudaina , together with other master masons between 1300 and 1311 for King James II of Aragon and Majorca . Rock from the hill where the castle sits was used for the building , which has eventually led to the appareance of cracks . Once the castle had been built , and following the introduction of artillery , the battlements on the top balconies and the barbican disappeared , being soon followed by those in every tower ; loopholes were built instead . History . The castle originally served as a residence for the Kings of Mallorca whenever they were not staying in mainland Europe , and was subsequently seldom used as a residence for viceroys during the 17th century . As a fortification , it suffered and successfully resisted two siege s during the Middle Ages ; the first of them in 1343 , during Peter IV of Aragon ' s campaign to reincorporate the Majorcan territories to the Crown of Aragon , and then again in 1391 during an anti - semitic peasant revolt . The castle has only fallen once in its history into enemy hands , in 1521 after an assault during the Majorcan seconds Revolt of the Brotherhoods . The castle was usually governed by a Lord Warden . In 1408 , King Martin I of Aragon gave the lordship of Bellver to the Charterhouse of Jesus of Nazareth in Valldemossa . Charles of Viana arrived in 1459 to take possession of both the island and the castle , as he had agreed with his father King John II of Aragon , even though finally the king did not grant the lordship or Bellver Castle . Being an enclosed site , since the end of the 14th century it was used as a prison , firstly to hold queen of Mallorca , her children James and Isabella and other supporters of King James III of Mallorca after his death in the Battle of Llucmajor in 1349 . During the War of Spanish Succession it was used to imprison first supporters of Phillippe d ' Anjou , and after the Bourbon victory , Maulets ( supporters of the Habsburg pretender ) . During the Spanish Independence War it was used to hold several prisoners captured at the battle of Bailén and later , political prisoners , the most famous of these being the minister Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos ( 1802 – 1808 ) who first made a description of the castle and commissioned the first blueprints and drawings of it . The castle served from then on as a political prison , used to lock up several important supporters of the subsequent Habsburg pretendants to the Spanish Throne during the 19th century , and later notable republican and Catalanist leaders during the 20th century , including Alexandre Jaume , Member of the Parliament who first won the castle for the city , and Emili Darder , who was the mayor of the city , both fusilated later . Features . Having been built as a seat for the royal court of James II of Mallorca , its structure combines the needs of a palace with defensive elements . The most notable feature in its structure is its circular shape , unique in Spain . Both its surrounding wall and the inner yard are so - shaped , and so are the three minor towers and the donjon . A moat is found surrounding the castle and its donjon . The circular inner yard must be highlighted . It has a well in the middle of it , which indicates there is a cistern underneath . The palace itself is structured as a two - story building around the central yard . All its dependencies face this yard through a gallery of gothic semi - circular arches . Current uses . In 1931 , the Spanish Second Republic gave the castle to the city of Palma , along with the forest surrounding it . It became a museum in 1932 , being restored in 1976 to become the city ' s History museum . Thanks to the parking lot and road built next to the castle , it currently welcomes a great number of visitors . The main yard is the seat to many different public cermonies , such as protocollary and cultural acts , and concerts . Due to its location and visibility from the sea or any other point of the city , it has become one the city ' s symbols . The surrounding forest encloses the stables of the city ' s Mounted Police . There is also a chapel dedicated to Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez , built between 1879 and 1885 . The Sunday following Easter Sunday , the citizens gather at the forest and the castle for the celebration of the " Diumenge de l ' Àngel " .