Sant Julià del Llor i Bonmatí

Sant Julià del Llor y Bonmatí is now the youngest municipality in the Selva region, since it was established as such in 1983, after separating from Amer.

The municipal area, of 9.73 km2 , extends along the left bank of the Ter River, bordering to the north and east with the municipalities of Amer, San Martín de Llémena and Sant Gregori, and is made up of two population centers: Sant Julià del Llor, to the southwest, and Bonmatí, to the east, and a good number of scattered farmhouses.

Historical summary of the municipality

In the current territory of the municipality , Iberian records have been found in some hills in the valley of the current Ter river and there is also evidence that the Romans took advantage of the plants near the Ter river. More recently, around the year 884 with the expansion of Christianity, the monastery of Sant Gregori founded some hermitages, such as that of Sant Julià del Llor.

In 1734 the exploitation of lead began in Sant Julià, iron was scarce, since some time before it had already been extracted to be used for workshops where iron tools (fargas) were fixed and made. Inglés and Osor also began to be extracted.

The “Joaquim Estrany i Fills” cotton industry was established in 1898 in the Bonmatí neighborhood and employed about 400 people. Three years later, the second warehouse was rented to H. Vicente Casacuberta, who would also dedicate himself to the production of cotton. But from 1912, the Casacuberta company began to control the two textile warehouses.

In 1903, in the third nave. Salvador Torras Domènech manufactured paper and employed a hundred people.

During the civil war, industrial warehouses are converted into military production factories. During the withdrawal of the Republicans (1939), Líster dynamites the colony's bridge. The company Fábricas L. Matas y Pons SA buys the warehouses of the M. Bonmatí colony and the warehouses resume textile production.

The inhabitants of Sant Julià del Llor and Bonmatí are dissatisfied with the administration of the municipality and have a desire for self-government. On February 22, 1983, the Generalitat of Catalonia authorized the constitution of the independent municipality.

Places of interest

More Bonmatí

Millennial building, property of the Bonmatí family, which has hosted it for twenty-five generations throughout its history. In 1920 it was transformed into a neo-Gothic style residential house. It is easily located, due to the height of its five-story octagonal tower with a pointed roof. On the north side of the building we can find the private chapel of the Purísima. The architecture of the farmhouse is an example of the powers of Manuel Bonmatí.

Bonmatí Colony

The Bonmatí neighborhood is one of the youngest on the banks of the Ter ( 1896 ). The three factories, two textiles and a paper mill, benefited from the mechanical power of the Ter.

Manel Bonmatí rented to the locals, each one had their own water pipe. In the first years of operation of the factories, the Ter provided an irregular flow, due to the lack of reservoirs.

Over the years, the factories have been modernized and have become private property: carpenters, blacksmiths, cane manufacturing and the hydroelectric plant that is still in operation.

Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

Chapel attached to the Bonmatí farmhouse. Built in 1886, property of the Bonmatí family. The nave was expanded, the bell tower was built and the interior and exterior were decorated in 1900. Once remodeled, it was blessed on February 14, 1902. During the Purísima festival, the people of the colony built paper lanterns and placed them in the windows of the houses. Currently, the Nova Frontera group makes the lanterns and this important festival continues to be celebrated in Bonmatí. In 1970, during the construction of the Santa María de Bonmatí parish, the Bonmatí chapel was provisionally the parish church.

Romanesque Bridge of Sant Julià del Llor

Roman construction still in force and currently restored. In the mid- 18th century, downpours left the old Sant Julià bridge damaged and it was replaced by footbridges and libant boats.

The Cavorca II

These ruins, which have been miraculously preserved, receive the popular name of Castle of the Moors and Cavorca. They are located on either side of St. Julian's Highway. Its sizes are 2.5 m high by 4 m wide. It is believed that in ancient times these sites were Roman sepulchral monuments.

Church of Saint Augustine

Probably pre-Romanesque parish church. It is located at the top of the highest hill in the municipality ( 295 m ). The building was rebuilt due to the earthquakes of 1427, currently very little authentic part of the building remains. It is made up of a single nave, with two degradation arches that form a triumphal arch. The semicircular apse is shaped like a horseshoe. It also contains a rectory and a sacristy. In front of it is the cemetery, renovated in 1875.

Chapel of Saint Peter the Martyr

In the middle of the forest, north of the Sant Julià hill, someone built a chapel of just over a square meter. In 2000 the new image was restored and blessed. The saint's holiday is celebrated on April 29 of each year.

Aulina

Under the branches of the monumental Can Muné aulina, planted two centuries ago, you will find the cool and shadowy rest of the fountain. The Massana urbanization has grown around it.