Discover Tor: Romanesque Church and Local Culture

Tor is located on a small elevated plateau above the surrounding plain. The village has a compact settlement structure. The oldest part lies east of the road from Figueres.

Townscape

In Tor’s historic village centre, there are houses with portals. These portals are made of voussoirs. The historic village centre also contains notable manor houses. The manor houses date from the 16th century. Thus, in Tor’s old centre, portal houses and manor houses from a clearly specified historical period stand side by side, without their architectural features being conflated.

History

The preserved Romanesque part of the church of Sant Climent de Tor is a single-nave church. The church has a semicircular apse. Its masonry consists of sandstone ashlar blocks. The blocks date from the 11th century. The designation of the preserved Romanesque part limits the described building fabric to this section of the church.

Culture

The Centre Cultural de Tor is a cultural centre. The Casal de Tor belongs to this cultural centre. The Centre Cultural de Tor has been continuously active for more than 60 years. The Casal de Tor hosts the events organised by the Centre Cultural throughout the year. This names both the cultural centre and its associated venue.

Since 1964, the tradition of Xai de Pasqua in Tor has included roasting a lamb. Visitors also come on this occasion. After eating the Easter lamb, Caramelles are sung in Tor. The Caramelles are sung by adults and children. The tradition thus combines a defined culinary occasion with a subsequent singing performance carried on by several generations.

The Saturday programme of Tor’s Festa major includes a sung mass. Sardana dances are also part of the programme. The festival address is likewise a component of the Saturday programme. The programme also includes an evening dance. The listed programme items therefore range from the mass and dance to the address, covering different forms of festival activity.

In 2022, the first edition of the musical vermouth in Tor took place at the Casal de Tor. This edition was a cultural activity. The event thus stands alongside the longer-established event and festival traditions as an edition clearly situated in time.

Routes

One local route is called Via local la Tallada d’Empordà – Tor. It is 850 metres long. The route connects Tor with la Tallada d’Empordà. The specific distance describes a clearly delimited connection between the two places named in the route title.

The La Tallada – Marenyà – Tor route passes through the three Romanesque churches in the village centres of la Tallada, Marenyà and Tor. The route thus incorporates three village centres and one Romanesque church located in each of them.

Another route is titled "THE FORMER CAPITALS OF THE COUNTY OF EMPÚRIES (I)". It is 17 kilometres long. The route is designated as a one-day route. It passes through Tor. In addition to the distance, this route therefore also has an explicit time frame of one day.

For the higher-level travel overview: La Tallada D'empordà.