Agullana: Cork Oaks, Megaliths and Catalan History

Agullana has a permanent exhibition on the significance and scope of the Catalan cultural exile of 1939. Mas Perxés is located in the municipality of Agullana, just outside the town, and became a refuge during the mass exodus of 1939. Another permanent exhibition on the Can Bech de Baix necropolis is designed for a broad audience, including family tourists.

Culture and History

The Can Bech de Baix necropolis became a reference site for research into the urn fields of the Late Bronze Age in the western Mediterranean. The surviving megalithic remains of Agullana date from the Late Neolithic and the Chalcolithic, approximately from 2500 to 1800 BC. The megalithic monuments include the two dolmens Barraca del Lladre and Llosa de la Jaça d'en Torrent, as well as the two menhirs Pedra Dreta, also known as Roc del Frare, and Menhir dels Palaus.

The chapel of Santa Maria de l'Estrada has been documented since the 13th century; however, the present-day church dates from the late 18th century. In terms of its size, the parish church of Santa Maria d'Agullana is considered the most spectacular example of the “Romànic III” stylistic phase between La Jonquera and Albanyà. Agullana's modernist buildings are regarded as evidence of the prosperity of the period. At the beginning of the 20th century, Agullana had up to forty cork factories. Agullana was an important centre of the cork industry; cork processing apparently began there around 1750.

The history of the town thus brings together archaeological sites, religious buildings, modernist architecture and cork processing. Its chronological span extends from the megalithic remains and the necropolis, through the chapel documented since the 13th century and the 18th-century church, to the modernist buildings and cork factories of the early 20th century.

Festivals and Crafts

At the Fira de Pasqua, craft workers offer cheese, jams and cured meats, as well as other handmade products. The traditional Aplec de Santa Eugènia takes place on Easter Monday and has a four-century-old tradition. The Festa de l'Estrada takes place on the last Sunday in August.

Landscape

Agullana is located in the Serra de l'Albera, a transit landscape with extensive forests of cork oaks, holm oaks and chestnut trees. The two dolmens mentioned above lie in the forests of the Serra de Comunera, near the old cart track between Agullana and Capmany. The Puig Castellar summit lies in the vicinity of Agullana; the summits of Mont-Roig, Roc Civader and Puig de Can Llosa are located in the area around Agullana.

Destinations in the Surrounding Area

In the area around Agullana are Castell de Cabrera Castle, the ruins of Priorat del Coll de Panissars, the Contrafort de Panissars fortification and the Fort de Bellaguarda fortification.

More Destinations

More destinations add to the selection: Ripoll, El Cros, Palamós, Fontanilles, Sant Miquel De Fluvià, Camprodon, Riudarenes and Vilajuiga.

To the higher-level travel overview: Girona.