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Attractions:

The town of Costitx has a special place in the world of astronomy, as it is the site of the Observatori Astronòmic de Mallorca, or Astronomical Observatory of Majorca. The centre was first opened in May 1991 with funding from the Government Department of Culture, Education and Sports, for the purposes of searching for and monitoring comets and asteroids.

The observatory carries out important investigation work and its proudest achievement to date is the identification of two new asteroids, something that has not occurred in Spain since 1941. One of the asteroids has been named after Costitx itself, and the other after Ramon Llull, the famous Majorcan theologian and philosopher.

Although the observatory is a working scientific establishment, it is open to the public and visits can be made by prior arrangement. These consist of an audio-visual presentation, which briefly explains how the universe was formed, before leading on to the hugely impressive observatory room, with its ten moving telescopes. Contact details for more information are:
Observatori Astronòmic de Mallorca
Camí de l'Observatori s/n
07144
Costitx
Mallorca
Illes Balears
Telephone: +34 971 513 344
Fax: +34 971 876 022
Email: oam@oam.es
Web: www.oam.es

Close to the Observatori Astronòmic de Mallorca is the newly opened Mallorca Planetarium. Here at around 7pm visitors can see the "Antes del Alba" (Before Dawn”) presentation, in this show visitors can experience a relaxing journey around the universe and discover the main stars and constellations of the Milky Way, with its star clusters and nebulae, and see how the sky changes during the night.

After the planetarium session, you have the option to have a guided observation session, using the equipment of the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, and a group of guides will show you the different objects that can be seen in each season. Contact details for more information are:
Mallorca Planetarium
Camí de l'Observatori, s/n
07144
Costitx
Mallorca
Illes Baleares
Telephone: +34 971 51 33 44
Fax: +34 971 87 60 22
Email: info@mallorcaplanetarium.com
Web: www.mallorcaplanetarium.com

Certainly worth a visit when in Costitx is the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Costitx. Here visitors will find a permanent exhibition of animals, fossils, rocks, minerals, mushrooms and other fungi collected from around the island. Contact details for more information and admission details are:
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Costitx
Calle Rafael Horrach 2
07144
Costitx
Mallorca
Illes Baleares
Telephone: +34 971 876 070
Web: www.museuciencies.com

If you have access to a car when visiting Costitx, then a visit to the Sanctuary Son Corro is a must. It was here in 1895, that the aforementioned three bronze ‘Caps de Bous’, or bull heads, were found in the sanctuary grounds - the largest of the heads is full sized, and all three are cast in one piece. Because of their size and their quality, these are seen as prime examples of the cult of the Bull that existed on the island during the bronze age Talayotic era. Two impressive Roman statues have also been found on the site, one of a soldier and one of a god.

In Costitx town itself, the house of Margalida Cativa is greatly venerated by the local people. She lived in the town from 1888 to 1919, and is currently in the process of beatification by the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. Although the house is very small, it does contain some pieces of furniture from the last century, and a number of personal objects that belonged to her. Her body now lies in the presbytery of the Parish Church of Our Lady in Costitx.

The biggest fiesta in the town, in memory of Our Lady of Costitx, takes place each year on the 4 days centred around the 8th of September. In common with most of the fiestas on Majorca, the event involves a parade through the town, a lot of drinking and dancing, as well as a number of sporting events.

Finally, a small but very popular fruit and produce market is held every Saturday on the Plaça de la Mare de Déu in Costitx – a great place to get a taste of real Majorca and to sample some of the wonderful produce grown on the island.

For more information on the town of Costitx, or the island of Majorca in general, please try the Search Engine below:

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