Discover Cabanes: Churches, Airfield History and River Landscapes

Cabanes is located on the municipal plain of Alt Empordà, amid a wide plain irrigated by the Muga and Llobregat rivers. Six known fortifications have been documented in Cabanes. The remains of a bunker on the Llobregat, one on the GIV-6024 and two on the Muga are still visible. Alongside the churches and historic sites, these concrete traces of the former fortifications are therefore also part of the town’s history.

Culture

Construction of the present-day parish church of Sant Vicenç began in 1803. It was blessed on 22 January 1820. The parish church contains a stone baptismal font with geometric and floral motifs. The font is dated 1604. Thus, the same place of worship contains both a 19th-century building and a significantly older piece of furnishings.

The remains of the medieval church of Sant Maurici can be seen in the cemetery of Cabanes. A 20-metre-long wall of the nave has survived there. Part of the semicircular apse has also been preserved. The visible structural elements show both the length of the former nave and the surviving end of the medieval building.

Until the beginning of the 18th century, the viscounts of Rocabertí used the chapel of Sant Sebastià for ceremonies to take possession of their rights over Cabanes. Of the monastery of Sant Feliu de Cadins, only the medieval church remains; the other monastery buildings have been lost. Alongside the parish church and Sant Maurici, this means that a chapel used by the feudal lords and a former monastic church also represent different historical contexts.

The Torre de Cabanes is the only surviving part of the castle. It is a cylindrical tower approximately 16 metres high. The former Republican airfield Aeròdrom 312 (SAF-26) was in operation from summer 1937 until 5 February 1939. The castle complex and the airfield therefore belong to different historical periods; however, visible structural traces have survived at both sites.

Water

Since the 12th century, the use of the water of the Muga to operate mills has been documented in Cabanes; these mills presumably served to grind grain. The use of the river is therefore historically connected with grain processing and complements the visible built remains with evidence of an earlier economic function.

Other Places

Other places on this plain: Sant Feliu De Pallerols, Espolla, Queralbs, Cantallops, Riudarenes, Sant Ferriol, Puigcerdá, Sant Jordi Desvalls.

Routes

A shorter version of Route 312 starts and ends in Cabanes, leads to the former aircraft hangars and is 5.3 kilometres long; the approximate duration is 65 minutes, plus time spent at the site. When planning your time, the time spent at the former hangars therefore needs to be added to the stated estimate.

The circular route of Route 312 in Cabanes is 10 kilometres long and starts and ends at the La Fruitareda car park. A circular route of Route 312 starts and ends at the car park of Parc de la Font de Vilabertran; at its three stations, the runways, the staff accommodation and the assembly workshop of the former airfield can be seen. The three stations lead to different surviving areas of the former site, without any particular order of visits being specified.

For travel planning, you can look for a holiday apartment in Cabanes as a base for your stay.

For the higher-level travel overview: Girona.