Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Gombrèn

What to see and do in Gombrèn (Ripollès, Girona): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 6 Monuments · 1 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Gombrèn

Towns near Gombrèn

What to see in Campelles 6.6 km · 2 places
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What to see in Castellar de n'Hug 7.2 km · 6 places
What to see in Planoles 7.5 km · 2 places
What to see in Sant Jaume de Frontanyà 8.7 km · 2 places
What to see in Ribes de Freser 8.8 km · 6 places
What to see in la Pobla de Lillet 9.7 km · 6 places
What to see in Ripoll 9.7 km · 13 places

Spain › Catalonia › Girona › Ripollès › Gombrèn

What to see and do in Gombrèn

Gombrèn
Village
Gombrèn is a mountain municipality in the Ripollès district, in the province of Gerona, in the Merdàs valley, with the sanctuary of Montgrony within its boundaries, and 206 inhabitants. The name comes from the Germanic personal name Gomesind, and until 1984 the official name was Gombreny, owing to the influence of the former parish of Montgrony. The municipality also preserves Mataplana Castle and the birthplace of Francisco Coll Guitart, as well as the church of Sant Pere and a botanical garden of medicinal plants. The population, today spread between the village of Gombrèn and small settlements such as Aranyonet and El Cortal, is linked to the legend of Count Arnau. Within its territory also lies the Forat de Sant Ou, a 74-metre-deep sinkhole first explored in 1910.
Castle of Mataplana
Monument
The Castell de Mataplana is the remains of a 12th- and 13th-century fortification located in the Vall de l'Espluga, in the municipality of Gombrèn (Ripollès), birthplace of the troubadour Guillem de Berguedà. Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Catalonia's highest level of cultural heritage protection), the site has been under archaeological excavation since 1986 and comprises the castle and an abandoned district or vilatge of about a dozen houses. Its core is a large rectangular tower measuring 16.5 by 4.35 metres, with two storeys and a voussoired doorway, surrounded by a wall 1.40 metres thick enclosing a space of 28 by 19 metres. Next to the ruins stands the chapel of Sant Joan de Mataplana, with a single nave and a semicircular apse, which was the castle's chapel.
Castle of Montgrony
Monument
The remains of the castle of Montgrony lie in the settlement of the same name, within the municipal territory of Gombrèn (Ripollès), and hold great importance for the comarca due to their many references to the legend of the comte Arnau. Beside them stand the chapel of Santa Maria de Montgrony and the church of Sant Pere de Montgrony, which give the local sanctuary its name. The place name Montgrony comes from the Latin mucronio ('nipple', or point), although the current form was influenced by the word mont, present in other similar place names, such as Montserrat or Montseny.
Sant Pere de Montgrony
Monument
Sant Pere de Montgrony is a Romanesque church located on the Pla de Sant Pere, in the Sant Pere mountain range, right above the cliff on which the chapel of Santa Maria de Montgrony stands, at 1,408 metres of altitude, in the municipality of Gombrèn (Ripollès, Girona). It has been documented since the year 899, although the current building was rebuilt around 1130. It has a wide nave with a central apse and two apsidioles arranged in a cross; the nave is covered with a barrel vault and the apse and apsidioles with quarter-sphere vaults. The outer walls of the apses display Lombard-type arcading and bands, and there is also a south porch with a pointed arch and a two-bayed bell-gable. It was restored between 1880 and 1915, and again in the early 1960s.
Sant Joan de Mataplana
Monument
Sant Joan de Mataplana is a Romanesque church in the municipality of Gombrèn, standing in isolation in the valley of l'Espluga, facing the ruins of the castle of Mataplana, of which it was the chapel. It dates from 1175 and is a building with a single trapezoidal nave covered with a barrel vault and a semicircular apse with a quarter-sphere vault, oriented to the east; the door, opening to the west with a round arch, has a small bell-gable above it. The walls are of well-worked ashlar on the outside, while inside, roughened, small fragments of fresco mural decoration are still preserved. The church has been restored on several occasions, in 1618, 1859 and 1969.
Castle of Blancafort
Monument
The castle of Blancafort, also called the castle of les Dames, stands on a ridge a little over half a kilometre north-west of Gombrèn; it formed part of the defences of the Gombrèn valley, whose district seems to have extended over the whole valley. Documented since 1246, when James I sold it in free allod to the lords of Mataplana together with the Gombrèn valley, it passed by marriage to the counts of Pallars and was bought in 1376 by the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses. Its site is known, but today it retains no visible walls. Asset of National Cultural Interest since 1988 (BCIN 900-MH).
Manor House of Solanllong
Monument
A fortified manor house from the 13th century, mentioned in documents of 1233, the centre of an old "quadra" that depended on the knights of Solanllong; it retains fortification remains with a machicolation and up to three storeys, and at its foot has a late Romanesque chapel first dedicated to Sant Esteve and later to Santa Magdalena.
The settlement charter of Gombrèn
Historical milestone
Blanca de Mataplana founded a fortified settlement at the foot of the castle with privileges to attract residents; Ramon d'Urtx extended the franchises in 1296, although in 1325 the place barely gathered twenty-five families.