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Cultural tourism: prehistory and architecture

In the Natural county of Moianès you will find many opportunities for knowing the history of our country, enjoying, at the same time, of the nature and all the needed services for making it possible.

The "Ronda del Moianès" (meaning the round of Moianès), is a network of rural paths well-kept, let us to approach to the best historical remains spread over the county . It is possible to get a plan with indicated routes and places to visit.

Prehistory in Moianes

"When the man of Neanderthal went to the South-west of Europe searching for a less glacial climate which was in the central part of the continent, he found open fields where the grass grew up till their waist and a lot of lakes and ponds, wet and fertile environment, fed by the snow of the surrounding mountains. The winters were cold and snowed, but the summers were sunshine, with warm temperatures.

The climate, relatively comfortable, let the men of Neanderthal live in caves or deep grottoes, where they could watch the plentiful hunting. Isolated willows and some bushes grew up beside the river near their caves. There were felines spying on the wild horses, the goats, the oxen and other animals that came near the river to drink. On the other hand of the ravine dug by the river, in extensive fields without trees, the hunters could watch the sight of a mob of elephants, of reindeers and rhinoceros. Those large size animals, sometimes rabbits and other gnawing joined to, provided food enough to hold up the group".

[Adaptation and translation of CONSTABLE, G. (1975; page. 49 i 86) The man of the Neanderthal]. « return

The configuration of the Moianès ground, with a lot of streams, with well oriented grottoes, with adequate cavities for the humans' entry and with plains where, previous deforestation, the implantation of the cereals' cultivation was easy. During the prehistory the employment was quite continuous. Only during the Ending Neolithic and the Ending Bronze period we can see a descent in the employment.

As in the rest of Catalonia, the lastest periods of the Prehistory, Metal ages, we will not see important changes in the Moianès county, where, now and then, a traditional agricultural and pastoral life will be abrupt for the presence of new people and materials from the surroundings.

The Moianès is not a close county, it takes part in the most of the events of the inland Catalonia. The way between the Vic plain and Bages, shows us the human footstep during the whole Prehistory.

Adaptation of the conclusions of the book: "Our origins, The Prehistory of Moianès"
by Maria Àngels Petit and Joan Surroca; Patronage of the Museum of Moià, October 1996. « return

Caves of "el Toll" and archeological museum

Among the most remarkable remains of these periods we can find a lot of dolmens -some of them in well preservation-, caves -specially the Caves of "El Toll" where you can get inside- and many grottoes.

In the Museum of Moià in a permanent attractive and didactical public exhibition, a lot of the discoveries done during the excavations: animal and human remains, etc.

Besides of the regular visits of the "Caves of "El Toll" and the routes that its visit is included, it is possible to organize other different itineraries with specialized guides in the subject and fit to the particular interest of a group.

In this web site you will find more information of the prices of the activities and a form to make the reservations in advance or to ask for extra information. « return

The architecture

In the Natural County of Moianès you can find important representative constructions of Romanesque and Baroque.

There are also some remains of constructions associated to many productive activities of pre-industrial period (watermills, iced-wells, calcium ovens, huts of vineyard, ...), some of them have been restored recently.

 

 

Romanesque

The most important building is the Monastery of Estany but there are also a lot of hermitages disseminated along the county, some, like Sant Cugat de Gavadons, in well conservation.« return

Baroque

We stand out in Santa Maria d'Oló
and the church of Sant Joan d'Oló among other
interesting buildings.

In Oló:
Parish church d’Oló:Major Altarpiece, St. Isidre Altarpiece
Parish church of St. Joan d’Oló: Church, Mare de Déu del Roser Altarpiece , st. Joan Baptista Altarpiece , St. Isidre Altarpiece

In Moià:
Parish church of Mare de Déu of Misericòrdia: Church, Paintings, Mare de Déu del Roser Altarpiece
Church of St. Josep
Church of St. Antoni de Pàdua: Portalada and Church
Mare de Déu del Remei Church :
Sta. Magdalena (Serramitja) Chapel

In Monistrol de Calders:
St. Feliu Parish church

In Castellcir:
St. Pere de Marfà Church

In Castellterçol:
Parish church of St. Fruitós:

In St. Quirze de Safaja:
St. Antoni's Church

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Pre-industrial

Pre-industrial architecture:

	The Mills. In the Eleventh Century, they started to use the current of the water to move the mills destined to grind the cereals. In Moianès there are some remains of these watermills (more than 60), which were used until the end of the Nineteenth Century. As the water flows were not strong and constant enough, almost each one is a pond rate, meaning that the torrents water is stored up and, when the water tank is full, the watergate is opened to let the water run and move the mill.
	Iced well. It is also told snowed oven. This industry provided the county with ice, Barcelona's city and even some farther cities. It has been very important in the county since the Sixteenth Century until the Nineteenth; in the Moianès County we find one of the most important concentrations of Europe of this kind of constructions in a small county(25 or maybe more). Some of them are being restored, particularly in Castellterçol that let you visit them in detail. The wells have an arch roof, where they stored up the ice inside during the wintertime to keep it till the summer, and then they took it and carried at nights to its destination.
	Calcium ovens. The high content of lime in the formations of the stones in the south of the county, made that this activity was quite spread. In these ovens, the "calcium men" heated the stones to temperatures of 1.000 ºC to get the "lime-stone".
	Huts of vineyard. From the Eighteenth Century to the end of the Nineteenth, the vineyards were diffused along almost all the county, with a special incidence in the western part. Nowadays, we can see disseminated over the fields where in those days used to be vines; remains of uncountable huts of vineyard built with the technique of "dry stone". You can find some remains of other constructions like: the "tines" (a type of receptacle), built with "dry stone" and covered with pottery, used for treading the grape.

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