The best traffic-free bike rides around Castellfollit Del Boix

Small but charming old town. There is a fountain with water!

The Old Bridge of Manresa (Pont Vell) is one of the city's most emblematic monuments and forms part of its most distinctive skyline, along with the Basilica of La Seu and the Cave of Saint Ignatius. Of Roman origin, the current structure is a faithful reconstruction of a 12th-century medieval bridge. It was destroyed in 1939 during the Civil War and rebuilt between 1960 and 1962 by architect J. Pons Sorolla.

Historic center of Catalonia, more beautiful than the official one.

A carved fountain consisting of a semi-buried body framed by a large arch, which creates a small elliptical apse, at the midpoint of which is the fountain. The water falls, from a rectangular niche framed in another with a pointed arch, onto a circular sink with a base. On the side of the fountain there is a bench attached, running. The set is completed with a stone table in the center of the space. This is built with masonry and the ashlars are seen in its entire front part, and inside, up to half height, the curvilinear part of the chapel was plastered. There still remains, at the highest point of the arch, the part of a fastening element from which a chain hangs, and at an even higher point, crowning the set, there is a large piece of stone with the inscription "Girada 1923". Observations: The fountain is located in Monistrolet, in an artificial widening of the road and in a space formed from the fountain itself and small stone walls that follow the lateral profile of the work. It can be reached by the path that comes from Can Servitge passing through the deposits of Can Gallifa or Cisternes de Monistrolet (file 390) and the Font del Rector (file 391), crossing the Riera de Rajadell, or from Monistrolet, skirting Can Gallifa (file 98) along the path that surrounds it to the W., and passing through the Camp de la Girada, cross the Riera de Rajadell through a ford, and from there follow a path in a westerly direction. The fountain is located 700m. in a straight line to the SW of Can Gallifa. The name of the Girada is due to the curve that the Riera de Rajadell makes in this sector. Campaign masses have been celebrated at the site with the stone table as an altar. You can see that the beautiful vault of this fountain is in the shape of an ellipse. This design, apart from having an artistic motif, also gives it a surprising acoustic property. If we look for the two foci of this ellipse and place a person in the area near each of them, they will hear the other person's voice clearly amplified and with an enveloping effect. From an area close to the focus, such as the beginning of the stone benches, we can also hear the effect.

The Font de l’Arrel is located next to the torrent de l’Infern –or Vallformosa or Servitge-, very shortly before the confluence with the Rajadell stream, upstream of the Suanya. A path that leaves the asphalt road that goes to the Servitge urbanization, when it crosses the viaduct of the C-37 road above it, crosses the shady slope populated by oaks and black maples, visits the Font de l’Arrel, crosses the Torrent de l’Infern and continues along the right bank of the Rajadell stream towards the Gorg Blau. The itinerary “M2 – La riera de Rajadell” of the Anella Verda de Manresa passes by the Font de l’Arrel. The fountain is well maintained and has a space in front for rest or meeting, shaded by a large oak and some plane trees. The stream of water falls into a stone basin covered with hepatica thallus and capillaries that give it charm. The flow is rather scarce, but only very exceptionally does the spring dry up completely.

Thirsty work getting to Castellfollit del Boix, so this should be an important highlight ❤️

Pont Vell de Manresa, crosses the Cardener river and connects the old Abrera road and Rodalies station with the Santuari de Sant Ignasi and the Old quarter.

On top of a hill stands a massive building of considerable height, the castle of Rajadell. At the time of the Reconquest, the Spanish Marca needed to control the border that delimited the Christian territory from the Muslim. The Riera de Rajadell valley therefore became a key natural passage for the defense and control of this border and the Rajadell castle was built to meet the need for defense of the valley. Other castles such as Castellar, Boixadors and Torres de Fals also made it possible to defend the enemy's territory. From the 13th century, the history of the castle was linked to the lineage of the Rajadell family, lords of the area who participated in wars such as those of Provence, Navarre, Almeria, Sardinia and Mallorca. In the course of the Generalitat's war against Joan II (in 1471) the castle and the church suffered a lot of damage and were inactive for a long period. In the 16th century the Rajadells were left without a legitimate heir and in 1515 the Cruïlles, who would later come together through marriage ties with the Eimerics, bought the manor. In the 17th century, the Cruïlles-Eimeric heiress, Anna, married Domenico de Pignatelli. From then on, the Pignatelli would be the lords of the castle, despite residing in Naples. At the end of the 19th century, the Princess of Belmonte, owner of the castle, sold the property to Francesc Pons from Manres. Built on top of a hill, next to the stream and the old town, the castle forms a set of three bodies. The first written documentation we find dates from 1063, although we can say that it corresponds to the Gothic period (one of the walls and decorative elements, which could be from the 13th or 14th centuries) and the 17th century. It is difficult, however, to establish which parts correspond to each moment because it has been rebuilt several times. Together with the church, it was the origin of the town of Rajadell. The main building, the tallest, still contains rooms from the different inhabited stages: the dungeon, the armory, the alcoves, the stable, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the dining room, etc. In the northern part of the complex we find the house that was inhabited by the farmers and a defensive turret that faces west. At the end of the 19th century, the Pons repaired the building and furnished it. However, during the civil war the castle was requisitioned by the revolutionary committee and all the valuables there were lost.