Top 8 Castles around Sant Cugat Sesgarrigues

From the Canyellas road it is a two kilometer climb to the castle.

There is little more to add to what Peaknik explains so well. You have to look closely to see the ruins of the castle.

Castle close to La Ràpita and from the outside you can see the shape of the castle and its surroundings.

Castle at the top of Olèrdola Park. This is one of the 12 natural spaces that try to be protected and at the same time that people can pass through giving life to the area. The old castle is an example, and passing by and seeing its walls is always beautiful!

The history of the place tells of the settlement of several tribes during the Bronze Age (2000-1800 BC), the construction of a primitive wall during the Iron Age (8th-7th centuries BC) and the arrival of the Cossetans (5th-4th centuries BC), an Iberian tribe that built an entire town there, later replaced by a Roman military camp that controlled the Via Augusta. At the time of the Christian conquest (929), Count Sunyer I built the first castle on the ruins of a Roman watchtower, as well as the church of Sant Miquel. The Muslim incursions of the 10th century seriously damaged the place, which had to be rebuilt during the following two centuries, after it belonged to Mir Geribert, self-proclaimed prince of Olèrdola. The visit to the complex is worth taking it easy and dedicating at least an hour to it. Before you go, you should consult their website: http://www.macolerdola.cat/Visita-ns/Informacio-per-a-la-visita

It consists of a whole series of vestiges and constructions that allow you to follow the history of Penedes from the Bronze Age to the High Middle Ages. The spectacular Sant Miquel church and the Pla dels Albats necropolis (both from the Middle Ages) stand out. Within the protected natural environment of the Regional Park of Olèrdola, and with a privileged view over the surroundings of Vilafranca and Garraf, there is a whole series of vestiges and constructions that allow you to follow the history of Penedes since the Bronze Age (about 4,000 years ago) until the High Middle Ages. It is located in an installation of the Museum of Archeology of Catalonia (MAC), which includes an interpretation center, and the visit to the complex is organized in an itinerary that starts at the interpretation center and links the various points of interest The vestiges of the Roman era are some of the most interesting, such as the wall (2nd-1st centuries BC), which defended the only point on the mountain that is not surrounded by cliffs and consists of a single central gate and four towers, and the cistern (also from the 2nd-1st centuries BC), dug into the rock and used to store rainwater, unique in the country for its capacity of 350,000 litres. From the Middle Ages, the spectacular church of Sant Miquel stands out, perched on top of the hill of the same name and destroyed and rebuilt several times since the beginning of the 10th century. It consists of two parts, one pre-Romanesque (built in 929) , which still preserves the apse and stands out for its horseshoe arch, and another from later (10th-12th centuries), which was in use until 1885. It is also necessary to mention the necropolis of Pla dels Albats (10th- XI), with a hundred anthropomorphic tombs excavated in the rock next to the ruins of the chapel of Santa Maria, the various structures of Iberian and medieval streets, houses and silos, the castle, also medieval, and the Roman watchtower.

The Olèrdola Monumental Complex is located on a rocky platform 358 m high, on the western slopes of the Garraf massif, within the Olèrdola Park, overlooking the Penedès plain. The first known fortification is from the Iberian period (9th-8th century BC). This defensive wall is parallel to the well-known Roman-Republican wall and preserves an internal transverse wall, the upper part of which was used in the Iberian period. During the 4th century and until the end of the 2nd century BC, an occupation by an Iberian town is documented. In this Iberian phase, the Late Bronze wall is reused and there is an adaptation of houses and a street, structured with respect to the defensive wall of the wall and which would be included in the later tower of the Roman-Republican era. At the end of the second century BC, the Romans built another wall in front of the previous one, a watchtower and probably a large cistern carved into the rock with a capacity of more than 350 m3. The cistern measures 16.40 m long x 6.50 m wide x 3.5-4 m deep. This cistern is considered to be from the Iberian or Roman-Republican period and was reused in the medieval period. 2 quarries were also located from this period (end of the 2nd century - beginning of the 1st century BC), one inside the walled enclosure and the other in front of the wall. Towards the middle of the 1st century BC, Olèrdola was abandoned but there was a medieval occupation from the 9th century. It seems that a field of silos cut into the sediment belong to an early period of medieval occupation. Within the medieval fortified enclosure, the space was structured in three areas. At the top was the military area, with the castle at the top and, further down, the sacred area, with the church and the necropolis. The lower part of the mountain was occupied by houses. In 1963 the Diputació de Barcelona acquired the property. In November 1971, after some renovations to the church and the construction of a new building on the site occupied by an old farmhouse-rectorship, the monumental complex of Olèrdola was opened to the public. Since 1995 the historical complex of Olèrdola has been one of the headquarters of the Museum of Archeology of Catalonia. Olèrdola was declared a Cultural Property of National Interest in 1931 and a Property of Cultural Interest (BIC).

The Monumental Complex of Olèrdola includes the castle of Olèrdola along with other ruins, such as the Roman wall or the silos or cisterns, and also the church of San Miguel de Olèrdola (10th century). In the same area is the Museum of Archeology of Catalonia-Olèrdola, which can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday.