The best walks and hikes around Rajadell

Historic center of Catalonia, more beautiful than the official one.

A carved fountain consisting of a semi-buried body framed by a large arch, which creates a small elliptical apse, at the midpoint of which is the fountain. The water falls, from a rectangular niche framed in another with a pointed arch, onto a circular sink with a base. On the side of the fountain there is a bench attached, running. The set is completed with a stone table in the center of the space. This is built with masonry and the ashlars are seen in its entire front part, and inside, up to half height, the curvilinear part of the chapel was plastered. There still remains, at the highest point of the arch, the part of a fastening element from which a chain hangs, and at an even higher point, crowning the set, there is a large piece of stone with the inscription "Girada 1923". Observations: The fountain is located in Monistrolet, in an artificial widening of the road and in a space formed from the fountain itself and small stone walls that follow the lateral profile of the work. It can be reached by the path that comes from Can Servitge passing through the deposits of Can Gallifa or Cisternes de Monistrolet (file 390) and the Font del Rector (file 391), crossing the Riera de Rajadell, or from Monistrolet, skirting Can Gallifa (file 98) along the path that surrounds it to the W., and passing through the Camp de la Girada, cross the Riera de Rajadell through a ford, and from there follow a path in a westerly direction. The fountain is located 700m. in a straight line to the SW of Can Gallifa. The name of the Girada is due to the curve that the Riera de Rajadell makes in this sector. Campaign masses have been celebrated at the site with the stone table as an altar. You can see that the beautiful vault of this fountain is in the shape of an ellipse. This design, apart from having an artistic motif, also gives it a surprising acoustic property. If we look for the two foci of this ellipse and place a person in the area near each of them, they will hear the other person's voice clearly amplified and with an enveloping effect. From an area close to the focus, such as the beginning of the stone benches, we can also hear the effect.

More of a hike to the top, not a run.

Collbaix is a 543 meter peak, located in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada. It is the highest in the district of Manresa, to the west of Pla de Bages, which has an excellent observation point. It is listed as a large park by the Planning Plan of Manresa. The mountain is located between the streams of Rajadell and Fonollosa. The south side belongs to Manresa, the east to Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, where the town's expansion area is located. Rajadell has the area of Punta Sabata and Fonollosa with most of the summit, the west and the obac slope. Collbaix originated from the erosion of the surrounding land. A resistant layer of conglomerates protects the flat top from erosion, forming a plateau. The summit is made up of large blocks of stone separated from each other. At the top we can find a geodesic vertex (reference 280109001) A metal table with an engraved map of the region. This peak is included in the list of the 100 peaks of the FEEC.

The tubs are constructions that have very similar characteristics. Its exterior plan can be quadrangular or circular, but the interior structure is basically the same. The lower part of it is made with stone and mortar. The interior is usually circular, and is covered with varnished ceramic pieces. Then, as an extension of the tub, some dry stone walls were built that gave its square or circular outer structure, where an opening was built. The roof is usually formed by a conical vault of dry stone covered with earth to make it waterproof. The vat usually has an upper access from where the must was poured once pressed, and at the bottom were the spouts through which it was emptied. Sometimes they have an attached hut that closes the access to the tub from the bottom and can also be used to store tools. In the area of Sant Joan de Vilatorrada and Sant Martí de Torruella some tubs are preserved as isolated architectural elements, in some cases it is simply the tub without any other element in the middle of a field. On other occasions it is a group of tubs (three or four) to which a hut has been added at the foot of each tub.

On top of a hill stands a massive building of considerable height, the castle of Rajadell. At the time of the Reconquest, the Spanish Marca needed to control the border that delimited the Christian territory from the Muslim. The Riera de Rajadell valley therefore became a key natural passage for the defense and control of this border and the Rajadell castle was built to meet the need for defense of the valley. Other castles such as Castellar, Boixadors and Torres de Fals also made it possible to defend the enemy's territory. From the 13th century, the history of the castle was linked to the lineage of the Rajadell family, lords of the area who participated in wars such as those of Provence, Navarre, Almeria, Sardinia and Mallorca. In the course of the Generalitat's war against Joan II (in 1471) the castle and the church suffered a lot of damage and were inactive for a long period. In the 16th century the Rajadells were left without a legitimate heir and in 1515 the Cruïlles, who would later come together through marriage ties with the Eimerics, bought the manor. In the 17th century, the Cruïlles-Eimeric heiress, Anna, married Domenico de Pignatelli. From then on, the Pignatelli would be the lords of the castle, despite residing in Naples. At the end of the 19th century, the Princess of Belmonte, owner of the castle, sold the property to Francesc Pons from Manres. Built on top of a hill, next to the stream and the old town, the castle forms a set of three bodies. The first written documentation we find dates from 1063, although we can say that it corresponds to the Gothic period (one of the walls and decorative elements, which could be from the 13th or 14th centuries) and the 17th century. It is difficult, however, to establish which parts correspond to each moment because it has been rebuilt several times. Together with the church, it was the origin of the town of Rajadell. The main building, the tallest, still contains rooms from the different inhabited stages: the dungeon, the armory, the alcoves, the stable, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the dining room, etc. In the northern part of the complex we find the house that was inhabited by the farmers and a defensive turret that faces west. At the end of the 19th century, the Pons repaired the building and furnished it. However, during the civil war the castle was requisitioned by the revolutionary committee and all the valuables there were lost.

Stone hut listed with code: 12643 construction -Construction type: Terraced attached to the margin - Orientation: Est - Plant shape: Square plant - Door type: Flat lintel - Cover type: False dome - Condition: Perfect - Restored: No Description: It has a feeder and a vertical cocoon/cubicle set. The flat slab of the portal lintel is spectacular. Eaves of blown flat stones. Comments: Discharge into the course of the Torrent de l'Enfitat.

The summit is crowned by three large stainless steel crosses. A plaque informs that the UEC Anoia renewed the crosses on February 24, 1991 and that they were blessed by the rector of Castellfollit del Foix, Bishop Josep Maria Mas i Busqué. The views are similar to those of Cogulló, although from here we have an interesting full panorama of this peak and the ridge that joins both peaks.