s'Hort del Rei

s'Hort del Rei is a public garden in Palma, beside the Royal Palace of the Almudaina. Cypress shade, fountains, ponds and swans shape the setting beside the city’s historic core. Its water features and planting follow the character of traditional Arab gardens.

The grounds once formed part of the palace’s private property, growing fruit trees, vegetables, medicinal herbs and ornamental plants. Urban expansion replaced the original orchard with buildings, including the Lyrical Theatre and the Alhambra Hotel. Gabriel Alomar led the project to restore this area as a public garden, beginning in 1966. The redesign also frames the Almudaina Palace, the cathedral and the arch of the royal shipyards.

That arch stretches above the swan pond and probably dates from the Arab period. Three notable sculptures add another layer: Llorenç Rosselló’s bronze El Foner, Josep Maria Subirachs’s marble Jònica and Alexander Calder’s iron Nancy. El Foner depicts a Balearic slinger, while Jònica turns a woman’s body into an Ionic column. Nancy combines fixed and moving parts, with air providing its motion.