1. Gerri de la Sal 2. Sant Victor de Sauri 3. Sant Pere Burgal
Art and heritage near the Noguera Pallaresa
The Noguera Pallaresa is the river that flows through the Pallars Sobirà county, crossing it from north to south. Dotted along it, we find different villages with churches, hermitages, castles, towers, paintings or ancient monasteries that tell of the history of these lands, animated by the baptisms of the wild waters of this river.
Lleida
The town of Sort, steeped in Pyrenean culture, is the starting point for our getaway. In this small town nestled in the Pallars Sobirà, you simply must visit the Presó-Museu Camí de la Llibertat, a museum space that tells of the odyssey of those who crossed the Pyrenean mountains, fleeing Nazism during the Second World War.
On the outskirts of Sort, we find the parish church of Sant Germà, which stands on high in the abandoned village of Pernui, located 1,027 metres above sea level. It’s a small church, with a rectangular nave and bell tower. And in the village of Montardit de Baix, in the municipality of Sort, the hermitage of Mare de Déu del Soler, a building of Romanesque origin, is also well worth visiting.
Leaving Sort behind us, next, we’ll head for Llavorsí, a small village made up of slate roofs where the houses are staggered across the steep slopes that give form to its streets and centred by the square where the church dedicated to Santa Anna stands. Within its municipal boundaries, located on top of a small hill, we find the remains of the castle of Gilareny, the last stronghold of the county of Pallars.
We continue our getaway by moving towards Escaló, where we can visit Sant Pere del Burgal, an old monastery which became a female Benedictine abbey at the end of the 10th century, and which shortly afterwards went on to become a male priory. Its remains are located to the left of the Noguera Pallaresa and to the right of the gorge of Sant Pere.
We then move to Saurí, a small town known for the paintings in the church of Sant Víctor de Saurí, by Santi Moix. Works of art that have placed the town among the international panorama of contemporary art. Nearby, we also find the village of Bernui, where we can visit the Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Bernui.
Finally, we round off our getaway in Gerri de la Sal, a medieval village that preserves a fantastic historical heritage. This village is home to a sample of the Catalan Romanesque at its best, the monastery of Santa Maria, of which now only the church with the atrium or entrance portico remains. You can reach it by taking the 11th-century Romanesque bridge which crosses the Noguera Pallaresa. Also, in this municipality, we find the Presó de Gerri Tower, a medieval defence tower dating from the 13th century.
