Walk through San Mauricio and the Castillo de la Malavella

Caldes de Malavella could not exist without a legend on the back of its history. A place as fantastic as Caldes, whose origins are lost in time, where the earth has made miraculous waters flow and who knows if it is also of fantastic origin, it could not be otherwise that it also offered us one of the most heartfelt legends and popular that, according to some voices, could have given a surname in the town: the legend of the malavella.

The legend of the Malavella is located in the magical place of the Castillo de la Malavella and the hermitage of San Mauricio, a place where a feudal, bad and old lady was defeated to free the population of Caldes from the abusive taxes it had on them. habituated and also the constant disappearance of Caldenc children.

More information about the legend of the malavella: www.festadelamalavella.com

To get to the top of the mount of Sant Mauricio follow the BTT route in San Mauricio, a circular route of 8.6 km., No. 15 of the La Selva BTT Center, but it can become linear by making the way back along the same path as the outward journey., once you have reached the top, about 2 km from the urban center. You will find more information here.

Next, we will explain the curiosities of the route of San Mauricio and the castle of Malavella.

The Castle of the Malavella

The first documentary data of which there is evidence of the Castle of Malavella is from 1054 as a result of a land deed made by the Countess Ermessenda. It is mentioned as "castro vetulo". Three years later, in 1057, there is news from the Castle "castro quod dicunt Malavella" in an oath made to Countess Almodis, wife of the Ramón Berenguer I Account, son of Ermessenda.

The castle was built in an elevated zone, of control of the territory. Its origin is due to the repopulation of these lands following feudal models. Its remains, which are from the 12th century, are black, a color that comes from the basalt stones that form the same hill, remains of an old volcanic chimney.

The basaltic outcrops of Puig de St. Mauricio

In Caldes de Malavella several volcanic outcrops stand out. The most important thing due to its dimensions is the one located on the Sant Maurici mountain where we find a volcanic chimney through which magma, gases and projection materials rose and were emitted. This chimney is made up of hundreds of basalt cousins from 4.4 million years ago.

It can be seen how the walls of the Castle were built using these basaltic prisms to take advantage of the most immediate resources and reduce, most likely, stonemason expenses.

The hermitage of San Mauricio

It is a construction that is being built in different stages in medieval times due to the need to expand the space of the old chapel attached to the Malavella Castle. During the 18th century the façade and the staircase were built, giving it a certain majesty that it did not have before.

It functioned and still does it as a meeting place for the inhabitants of the vicinity, and it is a place highly valued by the residents of Caldes, where every year on September 22 (local holiday, Saint Maurice's day) a crowded meeting is celebrated where they have religious celebrations, a popular meal and sardana auditions.

Source: Caldes de Malavella City Council