Olot

The municipality of Olot is the capital of the region of La Garrotxa and has its municipal term within the Natural Park of the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa, located in its municipal term there are four volcanoes: Montolivet, Montsacopa (or Sant Francisco), the Garrinada and the Bisaroques. La Garrotxa is the most important volcanic zone in the Iberian Peninsula.

Olot borders the Bianya Valley to the north, Sant Joan les Fonts to the northeast, Les Preses to the south, Santa Pau to the southeast, and Riudaura and Vall d'en Bas to the west.

The entire municipality and its surroundings are of great tourist interest thanks to the Natural Park, the Fageda d'en Jordà or the Aiguamolls de la Deu and Moixina.

Olot has a long history, we find references to Olot for the first time in the year 872, with the reorganization of the territory after the reconquest of Girona by the Franks. The town was located around the church of Santa Maria del Tura. Despite this long history, there are few buildings left before the 15th century, since during the years 1427 and 1428 the area suffered a series of earthquakes that destroyed the old town of Olot and forced the construction of a new one around the church of Sant Esteve, located on the limits of the old town and which remained standing. Since then, the town has enjoyed significant growth in population and buildings, such as the Convento del Carmen, from the 16th century, made up of a late-Gothic church and a Renaissance cloister.

If we go through the streets of Olot we can enjoy an important historical-artistic heritage, where modernist buildings stand out, as well as other Renaissance ensembles. Distributed by squares and streets we can find almost a hundred sculptures of different styles.

You can't miss the Paseo de Blay, dedicated to Miquel Blay and one of the busiest places in the city; the Plaza del Carme where the Convento del Carmen is located; the church of Santa María del Tura, documented in the year 872; or Montsacopa, a 94-meter volcano in whose crater is the hermitage of San Francisco (1812).

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Modernism had a great influence on the architecture of Olot, and such important architects and sculptors as Lluís Domènech i Muntaner, Josep Azemar, Alfred Paluzie or Miquel Blay left their mark.

Some of the most interesting modernist buildings to visit are the Casa Mas Collellmir by Alfred Paluzie, the Ferrer Pastry Shop, Can Noguer, Casa Pujador (1911-1912), Casa Escubós (1906), Casa Gaietà Vila (1901), Casa Solà Morales reformed by Lluís Domènech i Muntaner, Casa Gassiot (1911-1912), among others.

museums

Olot also has very interesting museums to discover the town and the volcanic area of La Garrotxa:

Regional Museum of La Garrotxa

Building from the end of the 18th century, and in which the evolution that the region suffered from the 18th to the 20th century is portrayed.

Can Trincheria House-Museum

It is an 18th century house decorated with exceptional furniture that illustrates the way of life of wealthy families in the 18th and 19th centuries. You can also see a monumental nativity scene that Ignacio de Trincheria started at the end of the 18th century.

The Crater Space

This museum will allow us to live an immersive experience about volcanoes from inside a volcano.