The most significant building in Sineu is the Parish Church of Santa Maria de Sineu. The temple has a unique nave with lateral chapels. At the end of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st, profound restoration work was carried out on the temple which was finished in 2007 with the installation of the seven bells in the Parish tower.
Abutting the church, and opposite the Plaza de San Marcos, is the rectory; inside you can visit a medieval Sineu ceramic exhibition. In front of that building is the monument popularly called "el León"; it is a copper sculpture from 1945, a lion with wings, a symbol of St. Mark the evangelist, which holds the Sineu shield with one of its front paws.
On Calle Sant Francesc you can find the magnificent Town Hall. The Town Hall occupies the building of the former convent of the Minim Fathers, with its 15th Century cloister located next to another baroque style church, built during the 18th Century.
The Palacio de los Reyes de Mallorca is a building which was rebuilt during Jaume II de Mallorca’s reign. In 1583 a community of conceptionist nuns was established, which is still there today.
On Calle del Hospital you can find the Oratorio de San José building, founded in the 18th Century. Although the Oratory still has some of its original gothic elements, today it is a building which has undergone many modifications throughout history.
The train station building, dating from the beginning of the 20th Century, houses the Centro de Arte de Sineu, where exhibitions of recognised contemporary artists are held.
There are various medieval crosses and a few medieval wells on the streets of Sineu, as well as old windmills, which remind us of the importance cereal farming once had.
Sineu has a railway line which links Manacor to Palma and runs through various villages.
FAIRS, FESTIVALS AND MARKETS
Sineu is the capital of the spring fairs, it is the village which attracts the most visitors for Sa Fira, the oldest fair in Mallorca (established by the grace and favour of king Sanç in 1318), which is held annually on the first Sunday of May; it is eminently an agricultural, farming and artisan fair which has done an excellent job of conserving the tradition and sense of this extraordinary annual market. The location of the stalls is kept the same year to year; they display all types of products: fruits, vegetables, plants and clothes on the Church square and the Calle Mayor; poultry on the San Marcos terracing; further down chairs, stepladders and plant pots; pocket knives on Callejón de la Vicaría. The Market place is filled with cattle. Animals, agricultural and automobile machinery are usually exhibited here.
It is worth mentioning that the Mercado de Sineu, which is held every week and is a grand event (established by Jaime II in 1306), is the only market with live animals in Mallorca and a great number of farmers come to Sineu to trade animals, buy fruits, vegetables, clothes, etc. Currently, and as an extra trip in their itinerary, a lot of tourists visit us and are amazed at what they can find here.
Sineu celebrates its annual festival on 15 August with games, fireworks, parties, dances, etc. But the most solemn time of year is Easter, as on Good Friday many people come to the town to see the processions and hoods which accompany the footsteps on the town’s streets with the sound of drums and trumpets in the background.
Other festivals held in Sineu include the Festival of San Marcos (patron saint of the village) on 25 April and the Sant Antoni Festival, with the typical bonfires, on 17 January.
We would like to mention a new fair driven by the Council to increase awareness of a typical Majorcan product, sobrasada. Feria de Santo Tomas- Muestra de las Matanzas is held on the second Sunday of December.
GASTRONOMY
Sineu, the cradle of Majorcan gastronomy, offers, in its more than 15 restaurants and cellars, which are steeped in history, a diversity of Mediterranean dishes which introduce you to typical Majorcan dishes such as Frit, Majorcan soups, pork loin with cabbage, snails, baked cod, etc. People come from all over the island at weekends and during Wednesday markets to enjoy them.
