L'Estany

L'Estany is the second highest municipality in Moianès; located at 870 meters above sea level, it is surrounded by mountains that range between 900 and 1,010 meters. It has a population of just over 400 inhabitants and an area of 10.2 square kilometers.

It enjoys a dry and sunny climate throughout the year and a unique natural setting that invites you to take walks and excursions along the marked routes.

Two things stand out from the pond: the old dried up pond in the 18th century, which gave the town its name, and the Romanesque Monastery of Santa María de L'Estany; one of the most extraordinary Romanesque architectural ensembles in Catalonia.

The orography of the land and the clay composition of the soil, together with a high rainfall, led to the formation of a pond about 11,500 years ago. The pond was definitely dried out in the 18th century by means of the mine, a magnificent work of engineering made of dry stone 425 meters long that still today still performs the function for which it was built: to draw water from the L'Estany meadow.

The monastery of Santa María de L'Estany, declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest, was founded in 1,080 by a community of Augustinian monks and is a true jewel of the Catalan Romanesque. The cloister of the 12th-14th century is, without a doubt, the most extraordinary element of the monastery, where its 72 magnificently sculpted and preserved capitals stand out, with a varied iconography of plant, animal, heraldic themes and of biblical scenes and profane customs, which due to their quality and uniqueness attracts visitors from all over the world.

Header photo courtesy of Manuel Almodóvar.
Slideshow photos courtesy of Marina Berdalet, Guillem Mercadal and Miriam Cid