Spain Walks: Besalú. Beautiful medieval town in Catalonia, northern Spain.

Relaxing morning walk in this beautiful old stone town. Apparently quite busy with tourists sometimes. This morning I have it mostly by myself. I came here after a 40 km horseback ride the day before, and will continue on horseback this day. First a relaxing walk.

What I didn’t know when filming: there’s a tradition from medieval times in this town: putting chairs a bit high up on the wall of your house. That way a witch flying by can have a rest without bothering the inhabitants. You’ll see a chair on a house wall at 10.50. Lovely!


From wiki: “The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France. Wilfred the Hairy, credited with the unification of Catalonia, was Count of Besalú. The town was also the birthplace of Raimon Vidal, a medieval troubadour.

Besalú was designated as a historical national property ("conjunt històric-artístic") in 1966. The town's most significant feature is its 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià river, which features a gateway at its midpoint. The church of Sant Pere was consecrated in 1003. The town features arcaded streets and squares and also a restored mikveh, a ritual Jewish bath dating from the eleventh or twelfth century, as well as the remains of a medieval synagogue, located in the lower town near the river. Besalú also hosts the Museum of miniatures created by jeweler and art collector Lluís Carreras.”

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