Fornells is a village located in a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in the north of the

Balearic island The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Fornells is estimated to have a population of about 1000 people which increases in the summer due to tourism. Fornells' native people are known as ''Fornellers'' in the

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

and in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

History

The village was founded to serve a small defensive watch tower, built at the beginning of the 17th century as a defence against the

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

for whom Fornells Bay provided the perfect safe haven. This watch tower proved to be insufficient, so in 1625 King Phillip IV of Spai
ordered a castle to be added
This project was not successful due to lack of funds. In 1637 the building project was recommenced as the castle of Sant Antoni. During construction, a small village was formed around the castle, occupied by construction workers and soldiers, this village becoming the basis of modern-day Fornells. During the 18th century the castle was held alternately by the British and French, before returning to Spanish dominion in 1782.

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

of Spain then ordered the partial destruction of the castle and all that is left of the military past of Fornells is the

watch tower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are b ...

on the headland, outside the village. From there to the west Cavallería Cape can be seen, and to the east the massive bulk of Sa Mola, forming the eastern side of the entrance. In 1798 the village was a landing site during the Capture of Menorca by the British.

Location

Fornells Bay is deep, measuring 5 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide. The narrow entrance regulates the force of the open sea. Sufficiently narrow to offer protection, the entrance allows water to enter the bay while restricting the waves. The wind is not so easily restrained. The surrounding hills are not high enough to keep out the

Tramontane Tramontane ( ) is a classical name for a northern wind. The exact form of the name and precise direction varies from country to country. The word came to English from Italian , which developed from Latin ( + ), "beyond/across the mountains", r ...

(''Tramontana'' in Catalan), which has shaped the rocks and bent the trees over until the branches almost touch the ground.''Rough Guide Mallorca and Menorca'' Phil Lee - 2004 - Page 235 "Fornells has no beach to speak of apart from a tiny patch of sand in front of Sa Nansa restaurant, round the corner from the main square. There is, however, o a long strip of sand 1.5km back down the access road beside the Ses Salines "

Fishing village

Fornells' natural harbour is filled with llauts, the traditional Menorcan fishing craft, used for fishing

lobsters Lobsters are malacostracans decapod crustaceans of the family Nephropidae or its synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, in ...

Tourist Activities

Having several small beaches around the bay, the harbour offers a number of aquatic activities for tourists, includin
boat tripscatamaran excursionskayakingwindsurfing
an
catamaran tour menorca
The annua
fiesta de Sant Antoni
is held on the fourth weekend in July.

References

External links

Virtual tour through FornellsFornells' bay webcam
{{Coord, 40, 03, 20, N, 4, 07, 50, E, region:ES_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Geography of Menorca