#viacamp i lliterà

[useless-catalanfacts]

The natural wall of Finestres, La Franja.

These rocks are called Roques de la Vila ("the town's rocks") but many people call them "The Great Wall of Finestres". The eroded limestone is a completely natural occurrence, but it looks like a human-made or even giant-made wall. Taking advantage of it, Medieval inhabitants of the area built a little castle and a chapel dedicated to Saint Vincent between the two "walls".

Photos from Montsec de Aragón.

[useless-catalanfacts]

The legend of the Mont-rebei sleeping queen and her three daughters

Photos by coronandopicos.com, Akamc2/Wikimedia Commons, and Fer Muntanya blogspot respectively.

These three little churches are the Medieval chapels called Santa Quitèria i Sant Bonifaci de Montfalcó, Mare de Déu del Congost Vella, and Mare de Déu de la Pertusa. They are located on top of hills around the Montrebei canyon, the river that divides La Franja in the West (where the two first chapels are) and Catalonia in the East (where la Pertusa is).

According to the legend, there was once a queen who had three kind-hearted daughters who would one day inherit the lands around the Montrebei canyon. But, deep in the forest, there lived a witch who was jealous of them. The witch poisoned the queen, who became gravely ill and would soon die. Her three daughters took care of her and looked everywhere for a cure, but could not find it and their mother died. By then, the three princesses were no longer young, beautiful and cheerful as they had once been, and they did not manage to find men to marry, meaning they would not inherit the lands. When the people of this land found out, they wanted to honour the three princesses who had taken such good care of their mother. For this reason, they built a chapel for each of them.

The three chapels represent the three exemplary daughters who will always remain taking care of their mother, the sleeping queen who is said to be these mountains. From certain points, people say that the landscape looks like the silhouette of a sleeping woman.

Text translated and adapted from Àger Aventura't.