The Pyrenees: Ripoll

First stop on our way to the Pyrenees was Ripoll, a town with slightly more than 10,000 inhabitants. Ripoll can rightfully claim to be the birthplace of Catalonia. Most signs, menus and notices are printed in Catalan. The city is located at the junction of two major watersheds originating in the Pyrenees: the Ter River and Freser River.

In the 9^th century, a local autocrat known as “Wilfred the Hairy” united several counties in Catalonia after the success of Charlemagne’s quest to drive the Muslims from Spain, thereby expanding the Frankish kingdom into the southern side of the Pyrenees. Wilfred would eventually become the Count of Barcelona.

To facilitate the repopulation of the valleys in the Pyrenees, Wilfred founded the Monastery of St. Mary (Monestir de Santa Maria), the first and foremost monastery of medieval Catalonia. Wilfred is, in fact, buried in the basilica. This Benedictine monastery (top photo) is perhaps one of the best examples of Romanesque art in all of Spain.

The five-naved basilica, the spiritual and cultural heart of Catalonia in the 11th century, features a stone portal considered by many to be a classic icon of the Romanesque style. Restored after two devastating fires in the 19th century, the monastery includes an cloister (above), no longer inhabited by monks, along with a lovely flower garden.

Because of an abundance of coal and iron ore, along with water provided by the two rivers, Ripoll became a center for the production of weapons, first crossbows and later, firearms. Because of its reputation as an arsenal for Catalan warriors, the town was razed several times by the French during the Napoleonic Wars.

In stark contrast of the town’s history of building weapons of destruction, Ripoll was where the Peace and Treaty of God (Pau i Treva de Deu) was promoted in 1027. One of the document’s guiding principles was the inviolability of the ability to seek refuge in a church in time of need, a maxim that continues to stand to this day.