Sóller | ||
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Municipality | ||
Panorama of Sóller from the north
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Location in Spain | ||
Coordinates: 39°46′3.18″N 2°42′50.36″E / 39.7675500°N 2.7139889°ECoordinates: 39°46′3.18″N 2°42′50.36″E / 39.7675500°N 2.7139889°E | ||
Country | Spain | |
Autonomous community | Balearic Islands | |
Province | Balearic Islands | |
Island | Majorca | |
Comarca | Sierra de Tramuntana | |
Judicial district | Palma de Mallorca | |
Government | ||
• Alcalde | Carlos Simarro Vicens (PP) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 42.80 km2 (16.53 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 59 m (194 ft) | |
Population (2012) | ||
• Total | 14,150 | |
• Density | 330/km2 (860/sq mi) | |
Demonym(s) | Solleric, Sollerica | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 07100 | |
Official language(s) | Catalan and Spanish | |
Website | Official website |
Sóller (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsoʎə]) is a town and municipality near the north west coast of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. The town is some 3 km inland, from the Port de Sóller, in a large, bowl-shaped valley that also includes the village of Fornalutx and the hamlets of Biniaraix and Binibassi. The combined population is around 14,000. A famous tramway, the Tranvía de Sóller links Sóller to Port de Sóller.
Sóller is linked by the historic railway, the Ferrocarril de Sóller, and by a highway with a toll tunnel, to the Majorcan capital of Palma. The Ferrocaril was built on the profits from the orange and lemon trade and completed in 1911. The Andratx-Pollença highway also runs through the valley. The present-day economy is based mainly on tourism and the expenditure of foreign residents, complementary to the agricultural economy based around citrus and olive groves.
The focus of the town is the Plaça Constitució which is surrounded by cafés and has plane trees and a fountain in its centre. The tram passes through the Plaça on its way to and from the main station which has been restored to incorporate a museum of Picasso and Joan Miró. The church of Sant Bartomeu (Saint Bartholomew) facing the east side of the Plaça is flanked by the ajuntament (town hall) and the Banco de Sóller, a remarkable 1912 Modernista building with defining ironwork, by the Catalan architect Joan Rubió i Bellver, a follower of Antoni Gaudí. The bank's organisation was founded in 1889 with the money of emigrants who returned prosperous to Sóller. On the other hand, the church can clearly be seen standing out from the canopy of the town from other parts of the Vall de Sóller (the surrounding valley). The original building dates from some time before 1236. The current main interior structure is now largely baroque (1688–1733).