Valldemossa

 

Valldemossa is a village on the island of Majorca. It is famous for one landmark, the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th century, when the mystic and philosopher Ramon Llull lived in this area of Majorca. Valldemssa means « valley of Moses » from the Arabic name Musa. Musa was an Arab wali (governor) who owned an estate in the region. Since the 19th century Valldemossa has been promoted internationally as a place of outstanding beauty, largely as a result of the affection of distinguished traveller and cultural writer, the Austrian Archduke Ludwig Salvator.  Valldemossa is a very attractive tourist destination, as it shows early Spanish culture. 

 

Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa

 

Ramon Llul. A few decades after the Arabs were driven out of Mallorca by Jaume I in 1229, the local philosopher Ramon Llull founded a monastery just outside Valldemossa

In the 1830s the Spanish government confiscated monasteries and the historic estate was sold to private owners, who have since hosted some prominent guests. These have included the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and his lover the pioneering French woman writer George Sand, who wrote a notable account of A Winter in Majorca. 

 

Jorge Luis Borges with his wife María Kodama in Mallorca 

Later the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío was guest of the Sureda y Montaner families who own the Chartreuse estate. To fight his own nightmares Rubén Dario would sleep in monk habits; however, his drinking habits caused a rift with his private hosts and thus his departure from the former monastery and from Majorca. Also Jorge Luis Borges lived in the town with his parents and his sister Norah, after the First World War let them free from their refuge in Geneva. Borges passionate friendship with the young artist Jacobo Sureda Montaner, son of the painter Pilar Montaner, was decisive for Borges writing mainly in Spanish.  

 

George Sand and Frédéric Chopin

In October 1836, Frédéric Chopin met a French woman writer George Sand at Franz Liszt's house. In the summer of 1838, George Sand and Frédéric Chopin became lovers. They spent the following winter from 8 November 1838 to 11 February 1839 together with Sand’s two children in Mallorca. At first, they stayed in Palma de Mallorca and then at the Charterhouse in Valldemossa. 

 

Prelude in D-flat major

Already after a month, Chopin was writing about Valldemossa in rather sad tones, complaining about the weather and local cuisine. The Mediterranean climate was to agree with the composer; however, that year’s winter was particularly rainy and Chopin caught a cold. On top of that, the piano that was imported from Europe especially for him, was lost during the transport. After the piano was found, it was waiting later for weeks at the Palma port for the duty to be paid. During this time, Frédéric Chopin was forced to play on a poor Majorcan piano. Despite the difficulties, he was working on his next pieces. It was in Mallorca where the collection of 24 preludes was completed (including prelude in D-flat major nicknamed "Raindrop"). 

There was not much left after the visit of the couple of lovers. The locals, afraid of tuberculosis, burnt most of the furniture of the rooms Chopin and Sand had lived in. Museums dedicated to the famous couple are located in the monastery cells 2 and 4. Memorabilia collected there include letters and manuscripts, portraits and sketches, as well as the Majorcan piano, on which Chopin had been composing since January 1836. There are also a Chopin's death mask and a lock of his hair, preserved in a George Sand's book. The museum is private and was founded in 1929 by Anne-Marie Boutroux de Ferrà and her husband Bartomeu Ferrà i Juan.
The Chopin Festival organised by Festivals Chopin de Valldemossa has been held since 1930 in August at the Carthusian monastery.

In cell 4, visitors can see the Pleyel piano ordered by the composer in Paris, which arrived in Valldemossa three weeks before his departure. When Chopin and Sand were leaving, they did not want to pay a high duty for the second time and left the piano to the director of the bank where Sand had opened an account. The piano, not yet fully paid off, was probably a form of a settlement. The piano was passed on in the banker’s family from one generation to another. Its current owners are the heirs of the bank director, the Quetglas brothers, who administer Chopin’s and G. Sand’s cell. The instrument is the greatest pride of their Chopin museum.

 

Port de Valldemossa