Route of the Cercavins

The Ruta del Cercavins is a path of just over 13 km, with departure and arrival point in Montornès de Segarra and runs through the terms of Montoliu and Montornès. It is a fairly flat territory where forest areas alternate with cereal crops, almond trees, olive trees and vines.

The itinerary also allows to know the heritage of the Segarra. In Montornès there are houses with lintelled portals in the old town and the old schools and the modernist cemetery and in the Ametlla de Segarra a cylindrical tower (year 1077) and the Romanesque church of Sant Pere.

We propose the Route of the Cercavins, it is a path of 12.72 kilometers and of low difficulty that has the point of departure and arrival in Montornès de Segarra.

The river Cercavins is born in the coasts of the mountain range of Suró (790 m.) And it crosses the municipal terms of Montoliu and Montornès de Segarra, by which this route runs. It is a fairly flat territory in which forest patches alternate with cereal crops, almonds and olives. There is also a vineyard, which was once cultivated throughout the Segarra and has now disappeared outside this sector of the region.

The Route of the Cercavins also allows us to know the heritage of the Segarra. In Montornès there are houses with lintelled portals in the old town and the old modernist schools and cemetery. Of the old schools, located at one end of the town, stands out the porch that circles the main facade and the two lateral ones. This arcade is supported by brick columns that support a roof of wooden beams of great uniqueness.

The cemetery, built in 1896, maintains its original appearance. It is quadrangular, with a tower at each angle covered with glazed ceramic tiles. The cemetery of Montornès is built according to eclectic parameters where a Gothic façade is mixed with the roofs of the towers as an oriental pagoda.

Both the schools and the cemetery were borne by Josep Maria Balcells, son of the people who emigrated to America where he made his fortune. He also left a dowry for the descendants of Montornès who stayed in the town.

Another of the remarkable heritage elements of the route is the Ametlla de Segarra tower, the only remaining part of the old castle of this town integrated in the municipality of Montoliu de Segarra. This castle was incorporated during the XII century the domains of the order of the Hospital. Its origins, however, date back to the eleventh century, when the Counts of Barcelona organized this extreme sector of the County of Manresa-Osona. The high command of the order of the Hospital over the castle of Ametlla lasted until the abolition of the manors in the nineteenth century.

The tower is circular. The two upper floors are preserved. It has a height of 13 meters. The primitive entrance door is 7 meters from the ground, at the level of the main floor. The castle of the Ametlla had an important strategic role during the war against Juan II.

In L'Ametlla de Segarra we also find the church of Sant Pere. The building dates from the 12th century, although it was renovated in the 15th century due to the damage caused by the earthquakes of 1427.

Source: County Council of La Segarra