www.santceloni.cat/turisme [email protected] C/ Major, 53 - Tel. 938670171 Sant Celonitouristoffice Information Recommendations How togetthere of theroute. will findontheleftasignpostmarkingbeginning Once youhavegonepastthemotorwaybridge de Montnegre andCalBatlle housingdevelopments. Sant MartídeMontnegre and theCanColl,Boscos From SantCelonicross theC-35road goingtowards Train AP-7 C-35 de

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Design and publication: 2014 Ajuntament de - Text: Josep M. Abril y Marta Miralles Photo: Marta Miralles y Joan Coll Majó The words heshouldhaveuttered were: that gushedfrom thesword infectedhimandhedied. which waswhathadreally slainthedragon.Theblood importance tohisownarmthanthesword ofvirtue, gate. Hethenraisedhissword drippinginbloodandproclaimed: Sant Celoni,whowere anxiously waitingforhimattheFortress his sword andcutoff thedragon’s head. mirrors. SolerdeVilardell wasquick toact.Hebrandished reflected inthearmour and theshieldthatshinedlike to facewiththedragon,ittookfrightonseeingitself shining armourandthesword ofvirtue. towards theDragonrock, thebeast’s den,protected byhis Pertegàs tocommendhimselfGodandthenhesetoff purpose inmind:toslaythedragon. that ithadbeensenttohimfrom heavenwithone The knightrealised that thiswasasword ofvirtueand struck astonewhichalsowaseasilysplitintwobythesword. sword. Hestruckanoldoak tree andsplititinhalf.Hethen magnificent sword. Solerwasperplexedandpickedupthe he camebackthepoorbeggarwasgone.Inhisplacea begging forfoodandSolerwentintolookbread butwhen Castle ofVilardell. Onedayabeggarknockedonhisdoor passersby travellingalongtheroyal road diedinitsclaws. which spread fearthroughout theregion andmanyunfortunate Once uponatimefierce dragondweltaround Sant Celoni, The LegendofSolerdeVilardell’s sword and thedragonalso” you havesplittherock, knight’s arm, “Sword ofvirtue, Soler deVilardell madeamistakeingivingmore and thedragonalso” You havesplit therock, knight’s sword, “Armofvirtue, Pleased withhisfeat,hewenttolookforthepeopleof The nextdayhewenttothechurch ofSantMartíde At thefootofMontnegre livedSoler, thelord ofthesmall When hecameface and wasrestored in2010. located ontheotherside.The church vaultwasinabad state two halfpointedarches forthebells. up bythree pillars.Abovethefacadestandsbelfrywith front ofthefacadeisaspaciousporticowithgableroof held into three sectionscovered byaslightlypointedbarrel vault.In in theXVIIcenturyalongwithchurch’s beautifulportico. commissioned in1508and1511.Thecurrent rectory wasbuilt ordered repairs to be madeontheroof. Works were also over thecenturies and hasundergonevariousrenovations andadditions built intheXIIIcentury, inthepopularRomanesquestyle documentation ofthebuildinguntil1279. dates backtothepre- Romanesque period,there isnowritten Although thechurch isvery oldandaccording tosomehistorians Sant Llorenç deVilardell Church Ceremonious andwasusedtowinvariousbattles. mentioned inthewillandtestamentofKingPeter ended upinthearmouryofCountsBarcelona, as a sword ofvirtue,wasverywellknowninmedievaltimes.It pride andarrogance. Historically, theVilardell sword, whichwas protagonists diebutitmakesabeautifulallegationagainst On onesideistheverysimplerectory andthecemeteryis The interiorconsistsofasinglerectangular navedivided The legendhasabittersweetendingwhere boththe . Thepastoralvisitsof1379and1425 It musthavebeen DragonRock the Solerlegend Testimonials of Vilardell and the The path runs parallel to the AP-7 motorway for 150m until Molí d’en Coll Oak tree This route takes you to La Roca you get to the Molí d’en Coll crossroad. It then follows along This is one of the largest oak trees in Sant Celoni municipality the of the mountain and continues leaving behind the and it would have been even bigger had not one of its main del Drac, a quartz deposit river bed on your left. Although the river is crossed by branches been broken. It fell during the period when the mill which, according to the Soler the AP-7 it still retains the charm of domesticated landscapes: had been abandoned, after the Civil War. Over the years, reeds Vegetable plots, planted fields, greenhouses, farm houses... piled onto its wounds and this led to serious rotting and holes de Vilardell legend, was once You will very soon come to the Molí d’en Coll and in the wood made by white oak borer beetles. the den of the ferocious reach the shade of an age old oak tree. Here you must take the elevated path that runs around this , which dragon, and then to Sant offers you good views of a different side of the , Llorenç de Vilardell church. The looking on to Valle de Santa Fe, Morou hill and even Montsoriu hill. The colours and textures of the landscape help you to walk enables you to discover discern what you see: Crops, pinewoods, Holm oak woods and the different contrasts of the beech forests higher up on the Montaña de ... You will then come across Sant Jordi fountain on rural, urban and forest your left, surrounded by plane trees and black locust landscapes as well as to find trees. To get to the Roca del Dragón follow the path alongside the garden center fence, which once again will take you down the footprints of our past close to the motorway. If you want to visit the Iglesia de Sant Llorenç de Vilardell you must turn back towards the Fuente de Sant Jordi and go up the forest path up to the careening. Then follow the signs that mark out a path behind the houses in the Boscos del Montnegre housing development until you reach the street Roca del Drac that leads to the church. The Dragon rock or cave is a large quartz outcrop that has been Before you get there you will come across a surprising Quercus pubescens L. left standing alone due to the effect of erosion from the river. Downy oak tree: the “surolí de Vilardell”, a hybrid cross between an Altitude 115 m A hackberry has taken root on it. The rock has a hole in the acorn and a Holm oak tree which is sporadically found in some middle that according to tradition used to be the dragon’s regions where these two species grow side by side. Size (year 2004) den. The white colour of the rock and the fact that it stands Height: 20 m Trunk perimeter: 3.7 m out amidst the surrounding plain with fields of crops, near the Bow diameter: 23 m royal road, must have awakened people’s fantasies and it was Molí d’en Coll soon made out to be the hiding place of a beast. In 1553 Joan Coll, a local of Vilardell, was granted permission by the general mayor of to build a flour mill with Soler de Vilardell’s two millstones. This mill constituted a fundamental element Turó de l’Home Turó de Morou triumphant entry Turó del into Sant Celoni Fort in the economy of the Vilardell district. The canal, that Samon Puigsesolles Serra Llarga after slaying the brought the needed to operate the mill, ran from a pond Vall de Santa Fe Turó de Montsoriu dragon. A coloured located at the foot of Bocs bridge and followed alongside the engraving by Marià Vigas, circa 1965 right bank of the Tordera river. But it disappeared when the motorway was built. The mill continued operating after the civil war until it finally closed down in 1954. Most of the building of the mill is still standing and has been restored by the owners.