Logbook · 16 places

Comital Castle of Besalú

Besalú, Garrotxa, Girona

1 Villages · 11 Monuments · 1 Activities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

Spain › Catalonia › Girona › Garrotxa › Besalú › Comital Castle of Besalú

Comital Castle of Besalú

Monument · Besalú, Garrotxa, Girona

The Castell Comtal de Besalú, in Girona, are the remains of the comital castle, atop the hill where the ruins of the church of Santa María also stand, built inside the fortress and consecrated as the castle's chapel in 1055. Of the castle, seat of the former counts of Besalú and documented since the year 977, few remains survive: a gateway with a large 11th-century voussoired arcade and a rebuilt square tower. In 1137 Count Ramón Berenguer IV granted the castle and its chapel to the Augustinian canons of Santa María, who enlarged the church in the 12th century; it became a collegiate church in 1592 and was abandoned in the early 19th century, sold during the disentailment of 1835. Today only the chancel and part of the transept of the church remain.

Photo: Karsten Ratzke (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What to see and do in Besalú