A Gaudí building at almost 1,400 metres, in the middle of the forest
After a good while on a track through the pines, a meadow opens up and a house appears that looks like no other in the mountains: a great pointed vault that comes down almost to the ground and a white staircase attached to the outside of the façade.
This is the Xalet del Catllaràs, the dwelling Eusebi Güell had built for the technicians of the coal mines that supplied his cement works at Clot del Moro, and whose design is attributed to Antoni Gaudí. Every time I have been up there, cows have been grazing around it. It is one of those places that surprise you precisely because of where they are.
Around the Xalet there is also the small unstaffed refuge, the spring, the water well its residents used and, a little further away, the mines. This page covers them all, with the route I drive in the Defender from La Pobla and the coordinates of each point.
Walked, measured and photographed by Josep Heras Gomis, who has a house at the masia del Pati in Borredà and explores the Catllaràs every season. The points are part of his routes published on Wikiloc: La Pobla de Lillet, Fonts del Llobregat and Serra de Catllaràs and Serra de Catllaràs, from Castell de l'Areny to Sant Jaume de Frontanyà. The historical and heritage-listing data come from the Xalet record in the Mapes de Patrimoni Cultural of the Diputació de Barcelona and from the Catalan Government press release of February 2026. Last revised: September 2026.
Güell, Asland and the mine technicians
The story of the Xalet makes no sense without the Catllaràs coal mines. Eusebi Güell had founded the Asland company and built at Clot del Moro the first Portland cement works in Catalonia, today the Asland Cement Museum. The kilns ran on coal from this range, and the mines were a long way from La Pobla. So that engineers and technicians could live next to their work, Güell, who owned the mines, commissioned the design of a house from Antoni Gaudí.
Gaudí's time in the valley left another work behind. As the La Pobla de Lillet town council explains, during his stay in the Vall de Lillet the architect lodged at the home of the Artigas family, owners of a textile mill in the village, and in gratitude he gave them the design of a garden on a plot opposite their house. These are the Artigas Gardens, and visiting both works on the same day is the best way to understand Gaudí's time in La Pobla.
Next to the Xalet there was also an Asland canteen, a large building that served the mine workers and where some of them slept. Today only its walls remain, beside the spring.
Date and authorship: what the sources say
There is no single figure for the year it was built. In my 2018 book I wrote, following the information available at the time, that it went up between 1902 and 1903; the La Pobla tourism website and Turisme del Berguedà give 1902; the Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya places the commission in 1904; and the study commissioned by the Catalan Department of Culture in 2026 sets it within the period from 1901 to 1908, coinciding with the construction of the Asland works. The prudent thing is to say it was built at the beginning of the twentieth century, at the time when Gaudí was working for Eusebi Güell in La Pobla.
On authorship, however, there is now an official answer. In February 2026 the Catalan Government presented a study led by Galdric Santana, director of the Gaudí Chair at the UPC, which confirms that Antoni Gaudí is the author of the design of the Xalet. The same study adds that Gaudí did not direct the building work and that what was built did not follow his design exactly, which would explain why he never claimed it; the execution may have been in the hands of Juli Batllevell, one of his collaborators.
The building became municipal property in 1932. In the early 1970s it was thoroughly remodelled to turn it into a children's holiday centre, and in 2018 the Consell Comarcal del Berguedà and La Pobla de Lillet town council promoted a restoration to give it back its original appearance. It is protected as a cultural asset of local interest.
The four points around the Xalet
| Point | What it is | Condition | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xalet de Catllaràs | Housing for the mine technicians, designed by Gaudí | Restored, municipal property | 42.224114, 1.971141 |
| Refugi del Xalet | Small unstaffed refuge | Standing, next to the Xalet courtyard | 42.224657, 1.971475 |
| Font del Xalet | Spring and remains of the Asland canteen | Spring with trough, walls in ruins | 42.223974, 1.970093 |
| Pou del Xalet | Water well of the Xalet's residents | Covered with a concrete slab | 42.223906, 1.973156 |
All four points are in the municipality of La Pobla de Lillet and can be walked in a few minutes from the Xalet meadow. The nearby mines (Xalet, Cable and Arderiu) are described on the page about the Catllaràs coal mines.
Xalet de Catllaràs
What catches the eye from the very first moment is the roof. The building is rectangular in plan, with a ground floor, an upper floor and an attic, and it is covered by a vault that is pointed on the outside and catenary-shaped on the inside, a form closely associated with Gaudí. The edge of the vault forms the ridge of the roof, so the house looks like a giant arch resting on the meadow, with dormer windows opening in the roof.
Inside it was divided into six dwellings, two on each floor. The staircase that connects them is built outside the building, in the centre of the façade: it is that white, stepped staircase you see in the photos, and it gives the house its very particular look.
Visits: according to the La Pobla de Lillet tourism website, at present it can only be seen from outside. For any changes, check the official page for the Xalet.
Getting there: from La Pobla drive to the monastery of Santa Maria de Lillet. There, instead of going back to the road, take the track heading west. It is about 4 km of track to a junction; take the left-hand branch, which leads straight to the Xalet meadow, where you park. If you come from the Serra de Catllaràs, via the Roca de la Lluna, the track first passes the Xalet well and reaches the house shortly after. The track is usually in good condition, but depending on the season it may be wet and some stretches become tricky in a car that is not prepared.
Coordinates: 42.224114, 1.971141 · 1,370 m above sea level · open in map
Refugi del Xalet
Right in front of the Xalet, next to what used to be its courtyard, there is a small unstaffed refuge: a single-storey stone hut with a slab roof, a door and a couple of windows, surrounded by pines. It is not a staffed hut; it is an old-fashioned mountain shelter.
For anyone arriving on foot or by bike it is a good place to stop, have something to eat in the meadow and, if the weather turns, take cover. As with any unstaffed refuge, leave it as you would like to find it.
Getting there: it is in the same meadow as the Xalet, a few metres from the house.
Coordinates: 42.224657, 1.971475 · 1,367 m above sea level · open in map
Font del Xalet
About 50 metres behind the Xalet is the spring: a rectangular concrete tank in the middle of the grass and, in front of it, a long wooden trough.
Next to the spring you can see the remains of the walls of the canteen, which belonged to Asland. It was a large building that served the workers of the Catllaràs mines during the years of activity, roughly between 1900 and 1920, and where some of them also spent the night. The technicians lived in the Xalet; the canteen was the workers' place.
Getting there: from the Xalet walk round the back of the house and the spring appears after about 50 metres.
Coordinates: 42.223974, 1.970093 · 1,358 m above sea level · open in map
Pou del Xalet
This is the old water well that supplied the people living in the Xalet. What you see today is a large concrete slab, almost flush with the ground, with a hole in the middle through which the water was drawn. It is easy to miss if you do not know it is there.
Harmless as it may look, do not stand on the slab or lean over the hole: it is an old well and nobody knows what state it is in underneath.
Getting there: going back to the Xalet and following the track for about 100 metres, it lies on the left of the track, just above a small stream. If you come up from the Roca de la Lluna, it is the first thing you reach before the house.
Coordinates: 42.223906, 1.973156 · 1,363 m above sea level · open in map
How to organise it and where to stay
The Xalet fills a whole morning if you combine it with what lies around it. A few metres away are the Mina del Xalet, the Mina del Cable, which is the area with the most ruins in the whole range, and the Mina d'Arderiu with its shaft; all three are explained on the page about the Catllaràs coal mines. About 600 metres further along the track is the turning for the Roca de la Lluna viewpoint, probably the best in the range, with views of the Pedraforca and the Cadí.
In the afternoon, back in La Pobla, you can visit the Artigas Gardens, the other work Gaudí left in the valley. For the Gardens' opening times, check the official website.
Our three places to stay in La Pobla de Lillet are at the foot of the range, are let whole and take pets at no extra cost:
- Tríplex Cadí: 150 m² on three floors, 5 bedrooms, a fireplace and a wood-fired range.
- Catllaràs Apartment: for 4 people, with 2 bedrooms.
- Adapted apartment: prepared for guests with reduced mobility.
Frequently asked questions about the Xalet del Catllaràs
Is the Xalet del Catllaràs a work by Gaudí?
Yes. A study commissioned by the Catalan Government's Department of Culture and presented in February 2026 confirms that Antoni Gaudí is the author of the design, commissioned by Eusebi Güell. The same study specifies that Gaudí did not direct the building work and that what was built did not follow his design exactly.
When was it built?
The sources do not agree: 1902, 1902-1903 and 1904 are all cited, and the 2026 study places it within the period 1901-1908. It was built at the beginning of the twentieth century, when Gaudí was working for Eusebi Güell in La Pobla de Lillet and the Asland works were going up.
What was it built for?
To house the engineers and technicians of the Catllaràs coal mines, which supplied the Asland cement works at Clot del Moro. The interior was divided into six dwellings, two per floor.
Can you visit the inside?
According to the La Pobla de Lillet tourism website, at present it can only be seen from outside. It is worth checking the official page for the Xalet before you go in case anything has changed.
How do you get there?
From the monastery of Santa Maria de Lillet take the track heading west; after about 4 km, at a junction, keep left as far as the Xalet meadow. You can also get there along the Serra de Catllaràs track from the Roca de la Lluna. It is a dirt track and may be wet depending on the season.
What is its connection with the Artigas Gardens?
During his stay in the Vall de Lillet, Gaudí lodged at the home of the Artigas family and, in gratitude, gave them the design of a garden opposite their house. These are the Artigas Gardens in La Pobla, which can be visited on the same day as the Xalet.