Castell de Falgons

Going along the lake towards Porqueres, take the GI-524 road that connects Banyoles with Mieres and Santa Pau. After 10 km., In the municipality of Sant Miquel de Campmajor, just in front of the school, we will see a path on the left towards Falgons. The castle is located on the left, at the foot of the road, about 4km. of the turnoff.

It was the seat of the Cartellà lineage, a lineage that the legend traces back to the time of Charlemagne and that also links them to the foundation of Collell. In fact, they did not appear in the documents until 985, when Guillem de Cartellà took part with Oliva Cabreta, Count of Besalú, in the reconquest of Barcelona by Count Borrell.

Of all the descendants, the most illustrious was Guillem Galceran II, Count Despertaferro, (1230-1309), whom Ramon Muntaner describes as “one of the best knights in Spain and whose prowess is cited in books such as those of Lançalot del Llac “. He explains that he carried weapons until the age of seventy and God bless him for dying, at the age of 80, among his family in Hostoles, in the same room where he was born. It is known, however, that he spent the last years of his life in Falgons, with his daughter Ermessenda.

The construction is from the 13th century. It is a quadrangular building with four towers protruding from the corners and a central courtyard. Above the front door is the Cartellà coat of arms with the caption “Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, Dominus Tecum” currency granted by Charlemagne to the Cartellà lineage.

Entering the courtyard, on the left, we find a large room that had been the cowshed, now a small museum of tools and utensils from different eras, all related to rural life. The most interesting thing about this room is the architectural restoration work done. The walls have been repainted to recover the original stone (sandstone and travertine) respecting its initial shape (round point arch).

At the beginning of the 18th century, a chapel was built dedicated to Sant Antoni Abat, to which a procession went twice a year, and which had access from the courtyard. The stables and the outbuildings of the servitude were also accessed.
A stone staircase leads to the upper floor, where you can see the great halls of this medieval fortress. These rooms are decorated with armor and other chivalrous objects. The doors and windows date from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The main room is two stories high and at the top, a gallery with a balcony, surrounds the room on three sides. On one side (the deepest one) you can see what had been the baron’s bed. From here, by a side staircase, you can go up to one of the towers from which you can see an overview of what is left of the only original tower that is preserved and also of the whole Vall de Sant Miquel .