The Year Of The Archduke

I don't normally buy a German newspaper, but I did on Tuesday. I was attracted by the front page, most of which was filled by a sepia photo of an aristocratic gentleman with a moustache. The headline read "Das Jahr des Erzherzogs" - the year of the Archduke. Inside there were three whole pages devoted to this Archduke, Louis Salvador, who died one hundred years ago. The three pages were deserved. There is no non-Mallorcan, with the exception of King Jaume I, who has contributed more to the island's culture than the Archduke.

2015 is officially the Archduke's year, the regional government having confirmed that it would be in 2013. The statement which the government issued in September of that year referred to its responsibility to promote and celebrate individuals of maximum relevance to the history and culture of the Balearics. There will, therefore, be a good deal spoken and written about the Archduke this year and there will be exhibitions, such as a major one that will open at Palma's Casal Solleric at the end of February.

Yet, for all that this will be the Archduke's year, what sort of an impact will it have? The answer to this may well be reflected in the fact that for some or perhaps many of you reading this, there needs to be an explanation as to who the Archduke was and as to why he is deemed to be important as he was. To cut a long story short, the Archduke Louis Salvador of Austria turned up in Mallorca in the 1860s, was charmed, bought land and properties, invited a load of intellectual friends to the island, became an honorary president of the Mallorca Tourist Board (Fomento del Turismo) and, above all, wrote the many volumes that comprise "Die Balearen", a narrative encyclopedia of the islands, the scope of which remains unmatched and unsurpassed.

The impact will be reserved mainly for the German-speaking market. The books were, after all, written in German. There are Spanish and Catalan versions but no English translation. Promotion will thus focus on German visitors, many of whom will already be very familiar with the Archduke. It is perhaps a generalisation to suggest that German tourists are more curious about Mallorca than their British counterparts, but there is some truth to it, and a good reason why is because of the Archduke and "Die Balearen". It is a work of enormous cultural significance for Mallorca but it is also of enormous significance in having helped to establish a bond between Germany and Mallorca that is far stronger than that between the UK and the island. Arguably, therefore, "Die Balearen" is more culturally relevant to Germans and German-speakers than it is to Mallorcans.

This is the year of the Archduke, but this will also be the first year of another historical figure whose importance is greater still. By a remarkable coincidence, Ramon Llull died 700 years ago, or at least his death is normally said to have occurred in June 1315 (there is some evidence to suggest that it was the following year). Because of this uncertainty the celebration of the anniversary of his death will straddle 2015 and 2016, while it won't officially begin until November. The coincidence of the anniversaries of the deaths of the Archduke and Llull is made stronger because of the connection between the two, principally the fact that the Archduke bought the Miramar monastery in Valldemossa which Llull had persuaded King Jaume II to assist him in founding in 1276.

Mallorca has produced its intellectuals but none can match Llull in terms of the breadth of his interests, studies and innovations and none can lay a claim to his having been the original populariser of Catalan on the island. Llull, therefore, dominates Mallorcan cultural history. He is pre-eminent among a select group whose influence on this history is absolute, and the Archduke is one of that group but the only one of modern times with the possible exception of Antoni Maria Alcover.

Cultural history forms part of what Mallorca desires by way of alternative tourism. But it is a culture which suffers by comparison with parts of Spain in appearing to be less than rich. This year, however, throws up the odd coincidence of the Archduke and Llull's anniversaries, and this coincidence does, moreover, create a link to the current day. From Llull, Miramar and so the Aragon crown and the kings of Mallorca through to the Archduke and his acquisition of Miramar and thence to tourism. The Archduke was not just an honorary president of the tourist board, he is often referred to as the founder of the island's tourism. So, 2015 offers a unique opportunity to promote culture through the joining together of the Archduke and Llull. It would have to be a promotion with sufficient force in order to break through the barrier of unawareness of visitors, but it could be done. Sadly, it won't be. It should be the year of Mallorcan cultural history: the Archduke and Llull side by side.