domingo, 28 de agosto de 2011

CATALONIA MEDIEVAL VILLAGES: BESALU

Besalú is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval villages in Catalonia. Located between Girona and Olot (and not far from La Costa Brava) it was an important medieval crossroads of routes linking Olot, Figueres, Empúries and Girona.


These roads cross actually in the current Plaça de la Llibertat, the main square of the village. In addition to walk along its streets, these are the main places of Besalú I visited.

  • The Medieval Bridge, the symbol of Besalú
  • Call Jueu in Besalú - Miqvé and Synagogue
  • Monastery of Sant Pere
  • Hospital of Sant Julià
  • Cúria Reial
  • Plaça de la Llibertat
  • Medieval church of Sant Vicenç
  • Portal de la Força

By the way, El Call Jueu of Besalú is one of the best preserved in Catalunya, together with El Call Jueu de Girona and El Call Jueu of Barcelona.

Next you can see some pictures of Besalú I took during the day I spent in this lovely medieval village.

The Medieval Bridge

Besalú from the medieval bridge
From the medieval bridge you can enjoy a nice overview of Besalú


Medieval village of Besalú in Catalonia
 A memory of the medieval village of Besalú


Medieval bridge in Besalú
Medieval bridge in Besalú


Medieval bridge in Besalú 
A nice place to enjoy the view of the medieval bridge, the symbol of Besalú



Pont Vell street in Besalú
Pont Vell street leads you from the medieval bridge to La Plaça de la Llibertat


A beautiful courtyard in Besalú
 A beautiful courtyard in Besalú which I saw before arriving at Plaça de la Llibertat


Call Jueu (Jewish Quarter)


Street of the jewish quarter in Besalú
In Besalú you can also see the typical narrow street of the medieval jewish quarters

Besalú in Catalonia
On the left you can see the entrance to the synagogue of Besalú and the medieval brigde in the background. The jewish quarter of Besalu is one of the best preserved in Catalunya

Jewish quarter in Besalú
This entrance through the city wall was the only one of the jewish quarter in Besalú. So jews couldn't enter the village

Miqvé in Besalú 
The incredibly well-preserved miqvé in Besalú


Miqvé in Besalú
The Miqvé was located beside the Synagogue



Monastery of Sant Pere

Church of Sant Pere monastery in Besalú
Overview of the church of Sant Pere monastery in Besalú, the only preserved element of this monastery


Church of Sant Pere in Besalú 
Detail of a capital inside the church of Sant Pere in Besalú


Hospital of Sant Julià
 
Hospital of Sant Julià in Besalú
 Beside the church of Sant Pere we saw the hospital of Sant Julià, another well-preserved medieval building in Besalú


Cúria Reial

Curia Reial in Besalú
 Main facade of La Curia Reial in Besalú


Plaça de la Llibertat

Arches in La Plaça de la Llibertat in Besalú
Arches in La Plaça de la Llibertat



Medieval church of Sant Vicenç

Church of San Vicenç in Besalú
Main facade of the medieval church of San Vicenç in Besalú


Typical narrow street in Besalú
A typical narrow street in Besalú


Portal de la Força

Portal de la Força in Besalú
 Portal de la Força in Besalú

 
Medieval bridge of Besalú
Leaving Besalú via the medieval bridge


In addition to Besalú there are more nice medieval villages in Catalunya. Some of them are:


If you like medieval architecture, you should visit the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona, the old city of Girona with its jewish quarter and the monasteries of Montserrat and Poblet. The Pyrennes offers also charming romanesque villages in la Vall de Boí.


Besides in La Costa Brava, near Besalú, you can visit many lovely villages and interesting places, like:


Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Catalonia, among them, more interesting medieval villages.
  

1 comentario:

yellahunter dijo...

Hey Frank,
Ive just stumbled accross your blog,
You have done an amazing job at showing us the different parts of Spain and Europe in general.

Can you tell me how long i would need to visit a few of the medieval villages in Catalunya or even Carcasonne if coming from Barcelona? I was thinking of taking a 3 day road trip from Barcelona

how does that sound?
do you have an email i can message you on?

Thanks heaps,

Ben