Category: Route of the Castles

The Route of the Castles of Sió basically runs through a flat area crossed by the Sió River, with a route of almost 42 km. The starting and finishing point is Cervera.

The region of La Segarra is known as the “land of castles” due to the large number of fortifications that stand. In the 11th-12th centuries, in this place, crossed by the valley of the river Sió, the border between the Christian Catalan counties and the Arab Al-Andalus was drawn.

The Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra fully coincides with the border lines that were created in the Upper Brand Towards the end of the 10th century.

During the reconquest in the middle of the 11th century, the bank of the Sió River was conquered from the Arabs and repopulated. When it became a border area between the kingdoms, the construction of castles and churches began in order to guarantee the Christian presence and the spread of worship. In this way, the Sió river becomes a border area in these lands, as well as an area of ​​social, cultural and economic communication.

The route naturally follows the course of the river Sió that gives its name to it, in the region of La Segarra. The river Sió has not been well known traditionally, but despite its low flow it is a long river and has become a frontier space in the history of these lands, offering us a historical vision of the constructions between the end of the 10th century and the beginning from XII. The Sió is born in Gàver, municipality of Estaràs, in Alta Segarra, crosses La Segarra, Urgell and La Noguera and empties into the Segre river near Balaguer. It is approximately 77 km long.

The Sió river determines a thematic route that fully coincides with the border lines that were created in the Upper Marque towards the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century and that draw a very characteristic historical and monumental landscape. During the reconquest, defense towers proliferated and later, urban centers.

The river, apart from becoming a natural obstacle that delimited the border, was used as a driving force to move different flour mills, so that hydraulic catchments were made at different points along the route.

In the different sections of the route you can find several castles that can be visited and places with a high monumental value.

The castle of Mejanell also known as the Tower of Mejanell because the primitive castle has even subtracted part of the structure of the defense tower, currently attached to a house.  It belongs to the municipality of Estaràs for a few meters, since the nearest inhabited nucleus is San Ramón, located to the west.  It rises at the end of a small hill bounded by two modest ravines and near the Romanesque church of San Pedro de Mejanell.

 Vicfred Castle is located on the plateau that separates the Llobregós river basin from that of the Sió river.  An excellent location to monitor the progress of the enemy.  Vicfred marked the boundary between Urgell County and Cardona County.  Today we see a stately residence but the origin was that of a border castle.  It is a protected monument as Catalan Architectural Heritage of the municipality of Sant Guim de la Plana (Segarra)

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

Castle of the Silos

 The Castle of the Silos is a Romanesque and Gothic castle in the center of Los Silos, in the municipality of Torrefeta and Florejacs, in La Segarra.

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

Florejacs Castle.

 The beautiful medieval complex integrated by the Castle building and the houses that follow the layout of the old wall of the town of Florejacs, lead us to a peace bath between the beautiful fields that surround them

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

 Ratera Castle, also known as Castillo Molino de Ratera (in Catalan: Castell de Ratera or Castell Molí de Ratera) is located in the municipality of Els Plans de Sió in the region of La Segarra.

 It dates from the ninth century, when it was very likely a second fortification of the castle of Concabella, since in fact it is in the municipality of Concabella.

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 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

The castle of the Aranyó, located in the town of Aranyó, in the municipality of Plans de Sió, in the northwest of Cervera, is a historical monument declared a cultural asset of national interest.

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

Montcortés Castle is a castle of Montcortès de Segarra, in the municipality of Plans de Sió, in La Segarra.  It is a historical monument declared a cultural asset of national interest.  It is located in isolation in the highest part of the hull, on a large cliff and before a small chapel, in the lower part there are the houses that later formed the town.

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

Sant Esteve de Pelagalls is a 12th-century Romanesque church in the region of La Segarra in the province of Lleida, which was declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest in 1982.

 The church is located in the center of Pelagalls and is very easy to access.

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

The Pallargues Castle owes its name to the haystacks it had.  In the middle of the village of Les Pallargues, Lleida, is this fortress that rose in a territory of continuous struggle between Moors and Christians.  In 1315 its owner was Berenguer de Rajadell and then passed to Mr. Concabella.

 Route of the castles of the Sió river in La Segarra

The walled town of Montfalcó is located on the top of a hill above the Vergós stream and the Sió river, within the population entity added to the municipality of Les Oluges in La Segarra in Lleida.

The castle of Montfalcó is located within the walled city of Montfalcó and was possibly built in the mid-eleventh century, when the area of ​​the confluence of the Vergós with the Sió was conquered and repopulated, by Count Bernatde Berga, who integrated the castle to The Cerdanya County brand.

The fortress of Montfalcó was highly appreciated, both for Christians and for the Saracens, being used in defense during the wars with Pedro I of Castile.

This is an exceptional example of a closed villa, its perimeter is completely surrounded by a wall about 8 meters high and 1 meter wide, built on the natural limestone basement of the hill and that is preserved in quite good condition, which by the interior part is attached many of the constructions of the villa. The villa has a single access door, which is double and with arches, to the east of the central square is the cistern that stores water. The arcaded part of the northwest is the one with the most architectural interest.

The wall is visible only outside the enclosure, and is formed by rectangular ashlars joined with lime mortar that occasionally leave a space for scaffolding, alternating with square ashlars.

The dating is not very clear but considering the surface, it seems possible that the construction can be located at an advanced time of the middle ages and not in the origins of the inhabited nucleus just after the Christian conquest.