San Sebastián cultural walk in Bigues i Riells

Structure located on the right bank of the track that would correspond to an old glue oven. Tar and vegetable glue are products derived from the forest, known and used by man less since the late Neolithic (some authors speak of their use in the Paleolithic) and not until 40 years ago. Curiously, they are very little documented products, both in their art of manufacture and in terms of their impact on the economy of the various periods. This is probably due to various causes: on the one hand, its manufacture was essentially a family activity and a secondary source of income for its producers, as occurs with many of the activities related to the forest.

We continue along the road until we find the track that goes up to the Plan. At the beginning there is a glue oven and above the Plan a series of houses, some battered by time, and with very good views of the Cingles de Bertí. After this multitude of houses and buildings, a crossroads we follow it to the right in the direction of the Big-Fai and when we reach its height we follow a path to the left, which passes next to the structure of a house that remained half.

This path, after crossing a stream, we left to go to see another glue oven and a brick oven. Returned to the road, we pass next to Can Segimon and behind the neighborhood, with a climb that makes a couple of curves to gain height.

Can Geroni ovens

One of them is a work oven two meters wide by 2.20 m deep. On the mountain side (east), although it has the lower part of the wall that closed the oven. Seventeen holes (fumaroles) are observed that communicate the oven with the pot (one meter deep).

This has a circular plan and is accessed by a half-meter corridor, all made of baked clay. The interior is occupied by a circular column. The second oven is located a few meters from the previous one, on the same margin, and could correspond to a glue oven. It has the shape of a large pot made with cooked earth. It is about two meters in diameter at its widest part and a little over a meter and a half in height.

At the end of the track we turn at noon and arrive at the Salto de Novia.

Girlfriend jump

Behold, one day a maiden came up to the hermitage of Puiggraciós to give her hand to a rich count who had come from unknown lands. She had promised herself to Mary Most Holy and did not want to break her promise; but both her parents and relatives loved him, and she had to obey them. With her was a procession, and with the count another. Both met at one of the curves; The young earl was eager to meet his promise. But as soon as they found each other, the maiden's horse leaped and spun around like a thunderbolt and launched down the hill.

At first they all stood by surprise, but later they galloped to stop the maiden's horse; but the attempt was in vain. The horse continued running until it reached a torrent that almost passed through the place of the Vigas church.

The timba, which could not be seen in the background, was straight and terrifying. The horse stopped only long enough to give a stronger thrust and suddenly jump over all that, until it was the bed of water. At that moment of the jump, the pursuers barely arrived. They got to different points above the timba, but it was already late. They dismounted the horses and went to the bottom of the stream to look for the horse and the maiden, but they found nothing.

Only where the horse had fallen, on top of a rock, did they see their paws pointed, which can still be seen today. From that day the place was known, as it is today, the Bride's Leap. Francesc Maspons and Labrós Tradiciones del Vallès, 1876.

Can Lluís (The Plan)

Farmhouse formed by the addition of bodies over time. It seems that the original building was made up of two small bodies parallel to the façade, on the ground floor and attic, with a gabled roof, which then grew in height, extending one of the slopes of the roof to the end, leaving the roof on a single slope..

This original building has regular-sized stone walls and openings framed by lintels and simple jambs. The stones are poorly worked. This building was expanded by the right side, with masonry walls and some part of the wall. The openings in the main façade, which were framed by brickwork, were also modified, and the entire façade was covered in batter.

It is one of the many houses that we see the Plan, but it is the one that touches the road and, counterproductively, it is the one that has arrived in the worst state in our time. The fields open the landscape and we see the Cingles de Bertí on the horizon and the Rull's house crowning the hill that gives it its name.

At this point we return to the asphalt and head towards the church, the final goal.

St. Peter's Church

The historic core of Vigas is linked to the Baronía de Montbui, of which it formed a part since the year 1,059, when Mir Geribert and Guisla obtained the county allod that would form the Baronia. Currently it is a group of buildings located on the Vigas hill. It includes the bodies of the church, the building of the Rectory, Ca n'Adzet, the old Town Hall (there is Mariano) and the old municipal schools. It is a sample of semi-rural architecture that has been reforming over time, to adapt to new needs.

The building of the Rectory and Ca n'Adzet stands out, originating in the 16th century, and as examples of architecture from the end of the 19th century are the old Town Hall and the modernist building of the municipal schools. Vigas was characterized, already in times past, for very dispersed nuclei of housing in the territory, taking advantage of the available resources and linked to the agricultural exploitations.

Vigas does not have a defined and consolidated urban nucleus over time. The hill of the parish lost inhabitants and activity when the population moved to the valley, better communicated, and with more availability of resources. San Pedro de Vigas, mentioned in 1059, although the current church dates from 1737.

With a Latin cross plan, it consists of three naves with side chapels and is covered with a lunet vault. The 12th century Romanesque building preserves the central nave of the current entrance, with the old door, now boarded up, which had a tree of life painted on the eardrum. The transept, the side naves and the dome are from the 17th century, as well as a valuable Renaissance altarpiece dedicated to the Virgen del Rosario, and the tower bell tower is from the 18th century. Embedded on the left side at the foot of the church is a sixteenth-century baptismal font, with no foot.

Resonate now towards the Market Square to close the itinerary. To lengthen a bit we go down Avenida Cataluña and when we arrive at the Can Badell road we follow it to the end of the route.

Source: Bigues i Riells Town Hall (Bigues i Riells Friends Group of the Cingles de Bertí)