Folgueroles: Verdaguer Heritage and Walking Routes

You can get to know Folgueroles through the literary heritage of Jacint Verdaguer, its historic buildings and several walking routes. Their varied themes and route profiles give you concrete points of reference for shaping your trip around cultural history, landscapes or outdoor activity.

Verdaguer and literary history

Casa Museu Verdaguer was the family home where the poet Jacint Verdaguer spent his childhood. Today, the museum presents a permanent exhibition about his life and work. With a history spanning more than 50 years, it is one of Catalonia’s oldest literary museums. It is also the starting point for the Verdaguer routes, which pass through Folgueroles, the city of Vic and the Guilleries-Savassona natural area. This brings the poet’s life and work together with routes through different places and a natural area under the same theme.

Font del Desmai is also part of the town’s literary history. It became a natural meeting place for the so-called Esbartades: gatherings where poems were recited and discussed. These meetings became a center of literary renewal during the Renaixença.

Historic buildings and archaeological traces

The Church of Santa Maria de Folgueroles has been documented since at least 967. The Chapel of Sant Jordi de Puigseslloses was built in 1477 and renovated and extended in 1883. Its historical significance is also shaped by Jacint Verdaguer’s first mass, which he celebrated there in 1870. The chapel thus offers a tangible link between architectural history and the poet’s life.

The Dolmen del pla del Bronze, also known as the Dolmen del Camell, is a megalithic tomb. It was probably used from the Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, approximately between the 4th and 2nd millennia BC. Another archaeological site is Casol de Puigcastellet. This defensive fortification consists of a straight wall, an attached central tower and eleven interior walls. It was used for just over 50 years between 250 and 200 BC, during the turbulent period of the Roman conquest.

Hikes and routes

The Camins de Verdaguer is a short, comfortable walk of low difficulty. One section has uneven steps made of stone and earth; the elevation gain is almost 50 meters. The Sant Jordi de Puigseslloses walk is two kilometers long, comfortable and flat, and takes a little over an hour. These details allow for a direct comparison: the Camins de Verdaguer is described in terms of trail conditions and elevation gain, while the Sant Jordi route is described in terms of length and duration.

The Camí Oliba passes through Folgueroles, which lies on the route’s second section between Vic and Sant Joan de les Abadesses. The two stages associated with Folgueroles are Vic–Folgueroles, at 10.7 kilometers, and Folgueroles–Sant Pere de Casserres, at 11.5 kilometers. The two sections can therefore be distinguished by their start and end points and stated lengths.

Another way to explore Folgueroles on foot is the Ruta dels Rellotges de Sol. The circular route starts at Plaça Verdaguer and leads to nearly thirty sundials in the town. The Sant Llorenç del Munt route, by contrast, focuses on the changing landscape: it passes through pine, oak and holm oak forests before climbing to high cliffs with panoramic views.

Natural area and views

The Guilleries-Savassona natural area includes Folgueroles, Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Tavèrnoles, Vilanova de Sau and Sant Sadurní d'Osormort, among other places; these municipalities are represented in the management consortium. An 8,370-hectare section of the natural area in Folgueroles, Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Tavèrnoles and Vilanova de Sau is governed by the Savassona protection and improvement plan, approved in 2004.

The Ermita de la Damunt stands at an elevated spot within the municipality of Folgueroles. From there, you can see Montseny, the Pyrenees and the Plana de Vic. Together with the forests and cliffs along the Sant Llorenç del Munt route, this viewpoint adds a distinctive landscape perspective to the historical and literary themes.

Discover more destinations: Avinyó, El Pla Del Penedès, Castellar del Vallès, Castellfollit Del Boix, Lluçà, Calders, Monistrol De Montserrat, Palafolls

For the main travel overview: Barcelona.