Cartellà Castle (13th century)

Photos: Michael Bohigas

The lords of Cartellà are documented from the end of the 10th century, but their castle is not recorded until 1238, when a priest was installed in the Santa Maria chapel in the castle. After the Cartellàs, the castle belonged to the Xetmar family, the Milany family, the Pinós family, it took part in the peasant revolt "Remences war" and finally it became a farmhouse. In the 20th century it was partially restored.
The structure of the fortress dates to the 13th century with three naves in a 'u' shape around a courtyard. The windows of the two upper floors are Gothic, and there are numerous embrasures, both for arrows and firearms. On the north-east there is the principal tower, which is rectangular, has four floors, and ramparts, like the rest of the castle. The two upper floors have preserved their different rooms and open up to the outside of the building with Gothic windows, and are accessed by means of an internal courtyard with a notable stone staircase which leads op to a balcony with a stone balustrade. Separate from the castle, there is the Romanesque Esperança chapel (formerly dedicated to Saint Mary) which has a nave and a semicircular apse, and has undergone later alterations. The buildings are surrounded by a moat.