A medieval village you can cover in a short walk
The old town of La Pobla de Lillet fits into a few hundred metres: a hill with the church and the former castle on top, and the Llobregat below, crossed by three stone bridges.
This is a village with a birth date. In 1297 the lords of Mataplana granted a settlement charter to anyone willing to settle here, beside the river, and built a fortress at the top. What you see today is the result of seven centuries on that same plan: the Baroque church occupies the highest point, where the Mataplana family had their residence, and the bridges still join the two banks at the same places.
This page covers five points in the old town, in the order in which we walk them, with the exact location and what to look out for at each one. It is also, quite literally, the walk on your doorstep if you stay in one of our apartments in La Pobla de Lillet.
Walked, measured and photographed by Josep Heras Gomis, who has a house at the masia del Pati in Borredà and explores the Serra de Catllaràs and its surroundings every season. These points are part of his route La Pobla de Lillet – Fonts del Llobregat – Serra de Catllaràs, published on Wikiloc and described in his 2018 book. The historical and heritage-listing data come from the Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya, the Mapa de Patrimoni Cultural of the Diputació de Barcelona and the Enciclopèdia Catalana. Last revised: September 2026.
1297: the settlement charter
For centuries the heart of the valley was not here but on the mountain opposite, at the castle of Lillet and the monastery of Santa Maria below it. The photo alongside was taken from the window of that old castle: down below, framed by the stone, you can see the village that replaced it.
On 15 April 1297 Ramon d'Urtx and his son Hug de Mataplana granted a settlement charter to the inhabitants of La Pobla de Lillet. According to the Enciclopèdia Catalana, it freed them from certain taxes and from the "bad customs" of feudal law, gave them freedom to change residence and guarantees over their property. It was a way of drawing people to a new place, where the road from the Berguedà to the Cerdanya met the valley, on a hill beside the Llobregat that was easy to wall.
A fortress was built along with the town, so that the barony had a stronghold in case of war and the townspeople a refuge. The castle up on the mountain was gradually abandoned and came to be called Lillet Vell. If you want to see the other side of this story, we tell it on the page about the Santa Maria de Lillet monastery, the Sant Miquel rotunda and the Castell Vell.
The five points of the old town
| Point | What it is | Condition | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castell de La Pobla de Lillet | Site of the Mataplana castle-palace | Restored building, private | 42.244366, 1.974393 |
| Església de Santa Maria de Lillet | Baroque parish church, completed in 1784 | In use; Cultural Asset of Local Interest | 42.244347, 1.974281 |
| Pont del Magret | Bridge with two segmental arches | In use, next to the town hall | 42.243654, 1.974875 |
| Pont Vell de Lillet | 14th-century Gothic bridge | Standing, pedestrian; Cultural Asset of Local Interest | 42.243779, 1.975187 |
| Pont de la Petita | Single segmental-arch bridge | In use; Cultural Asset of Local Interest | 42.244159, 1.975424 |
All the points are less than 200 metres from one another. The castle and the church share the top of the hill; the three bridges cross the Llobregat at the foot of the old town, one after the other, along the road.
Castell de La Pobla de Lillet
A word of warning: it is a little hard to recognise, because it does not look like a castle. There are no battlements or keep in sight. What there is, is a stone building attached to the church at the top of the old town, on the spot still known today as "El Castell".
This is where the Mataplana family built their castle-palace after the town was founded in 1297, and in the 14th century the lords' residence moved here for good from the old castle on the mountain. The building you see today is much later: it was the parish rectory and stands on the site of that fortress. Its southern half was altered in the 18th century to enlarge the church of Santa Maria, and the northern half was restored at the beginning of this century.
Today it is private accommodation, so it is seen from the street and cannot be visited. It is still worth walking up: the narrow cobbled streets that lead here are the most authentic part of the old town.
How to get there: leave the car in the car park in front of the town hall, next to the Pont del Magret, and walk up to the historic centre. In a few minutes you are at the top, next to the church.
Coordinates: 42.244366, 1.974393 · 844 m altitude · open on the map
Església de Santa Maria de Lillet
Attached to the castle is the parish church, and it is the best proof that power settled on this hill: it occupies the highest point, exactly where the Mataplana family had their residence. According to the Mapa de Patrimoni Cultural, a private chapel dedicated to Sant Antoni Abat was already founded here in 1356.
The present church is Baroque and was completed in 1784. It has a single barrel-vaulted nave and eight side chapels. What catches the eye from the square is the façade: a plain wall with a large oculus and, in the centre, a finely carved stone doorway, almost like an altarpiece, framed by pilasters bearing the town's coat of arms. A flight of stone steps leads up to it.
Inside, the high altar is presided over by the Majestat de Lillet, a triumphant Christ nailed to the cross with four nails, a Romanesque carving in polychrome wood from the first half of the 12th century, measuring 145 by 131 centimetres. It did not originate here: it was venerated in the church of the monastery of Santa Maria, up on the mountain, and came down to the village just as everything else did. It was restored in 2014 and 2015, and the study confirmed that the arms are not the original ones. The church is protected as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest.
Do not confuse it with the monastery. There are two Santa Marias de Lillet: this one, the village parish church, and the monastery of Santa Maria de Lillet, Romanesque, about 1.5 km to the east, next to the Sant Miquel rotunda. If you are looking for the monastery on a map, its coordinates are 42.242857, 1.993248.
How to get there: it is attached to the castle, at the top of the old town. The façade faces a small cobbled square.
Coordinates: 42.244347, 1.974281 · 844 m altitude · open on the map
Pont del Magret and Pont Vell
When you come back down to the road you reach the river. The first bridge is the Pont del Magret, right in front of the car park and next to the town hall. It has two segmental arches of voussoirs; the arches are built of well-dressed stone blocks, while the rest of the masonry is irregular stone. It is a bridge in daily use and so it goes unnoticed, but it is worth looking at from the bank.
Following the road, about thirty metres further on, is the Pont Vell, also called the Pont Gran, and this one really is the jewel of the village. It is a Gothic humpbacked bridge with a single pointed arch resting on square piers. It was built in the 14th century: in 1339 there are already records of bequests and donations towards the work on the bridge, some of them from the town's own leading citizens.
It has more layers than it seems. The bases of the piers are of very well-worked squared blocks, and the heritage records suggest that the Gothic bridge probably reused the foundations of an earlier one from Roman times, at a crossroads between the Llobregat and the Ter. It originally had two arches, but one was dismantled when a wall was built on the right bank: the one still standing is the smaller one. Its present shape dates from a phase in the late 18th or early 19th century.
As you cross it, look at the paving: it is made of river cobbles, sloping down on both sides, with steps of larger stones on the northern descent. That side ends in a staircase set at an angle, which climbs to the level of the present road and was added in the first decade of the 20th century. It is protected as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest.
How to get there: from the town hall car park, the Pont del Magret is right in front and the Pont Vell a few steps away along the road.
Coordinates: Pont del Magret 42.243654, 1.974875 · 840 m · map — Pont Vell 42.243779, 1.975187 · 841 m · map
Pont de la Petita
About forty metres further along the road is the third bridge. It is the most discreet and the one best seen from the road itself: a single segmental arch of large stone voussoirs that stand out against more irregular masonry, with a gently humpbacked deck.
It is still open to traffic and well preserved. It links the carrer de les Furrioles d'Abaix, on the east bank, with the road, and is protected as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest. The sources do not agree on its date: some make it medieval, while the Diputació record places it in the early modern period, so we prefer not to give a specific date.
From here it is worth looking back: with the Pont Vell and the Pont del Magret a few metres away, you can see clearly how the village grew clinging to the river.
How to get there: following the road from the Pont Vell, it is the next bridge you come to.
Coordinates: 42.244159, 1.975424 · 839 m altitude · open on the map
What else is close to the old town
The historic centre is the natural starting point for the rest of the valley, and several visits can be made without getting back in the car.
- Tren del Ciment. The station and the train museum are at the entrance to the village, less than a kilometre from the church. The tourist train runs up to the Jardins Artigas and the former cement works at Clot del Moro. Check the timetable on its official website.
- Jardins Artigas. The garden Gaudí designed for the Artigas family is in the village itself, about a kilometre to the north. From the bridges, follow the road without crossing the last bridge towards Ripoll and carry straight on north to the signs.
- Santa Maria de Lillet monastery. Where it all began, 1.5 km to the east: the Romanesque monastery, the Sant Miquel rotunda and the Castell Vell, from whose window you can see the village.
- Asland Cement Museum. The Modernista factory at Clot del Moro, in Castellar de n'Hug, which the train also reaches.
Staying in La Pobla de Lillet, right by the old town
This is the walk you take straight from the front door. Our three places to stay are in La Pobla de Lillet, so the old town, the bridges and the church can be explored on foot, at any time of day, without the car and without looking for parking. In the morning you can go up to the monastery or take the Tren del Ciment, and in the evening stroll back along the Llobregat.
All three are let whole and take pets at no extra cost:
- Tríplex Cadí: 150 m² over three floors, with 5 bedrooms, a fireplace and a wood-burning range.
- Catllaràs apartment: for 4 people, with 2 bedrooms.
- Adapted apartment: prepared for people with reduced mobility.
From any of them, the Serra de Catllaràs, the Fonts del Llobregat and the Falgars sanctuary are also a short drive away.
Frequently asked questions about the old town of La Pobla de Lillet
What is there to see in the old town of La Pobla de Lillet?
The site of the Mataplana castle, the Baroque parish church of Santa Maria with its 12th-century Romanesque Majestat, and three stone bridges over the Llobregat: the Pont del Magret, the 14th-century Gothic Pont Vell and the Pont de la Petita. Everything is within 200 metres.
When was La Pobla de Lillet founded?
On 15 April 1297 Ramon d'Urtx and his son Hug de Mataplana granted a settlement charter to its inhabitants. The new town replaced the castle of Lillet, up on the mountain, which came to be called Lillet Vell.
Is the village church of Santa Maria the Santa Maria de Lillet monastery?
No. The parish church is Baroque, was completed in 1784 and stands at the top of the old town. The monastery of Santa Maria de Lillet is Romanesque and lies about 1.5 km to the east, next to the Sant Miquel rotunda. The Majestat that presides over the parish church came from the monastery.
How old is the Pont Vell?
It is a 14th-century Gothic bridge; donations towards its construction are already recorded in 1339. It probably reuses the foundations of an earlier Roman bridge. It originally had two arches and today keeps one, the smaller.
Can the castle of La Pobla be visited?
Not inside. The building on the castle site, a former rectory, is now private accommodation. It can be seen from the street, next to the church.
Where to stay in the old town of La Pobla de Lillet?
We have three places to stay in La Pobla de Lillet, right by the old town: the Tríplex Cadí (150 m², 5 bedrooms), the Catllaràs apartment (4 people) and an apartment adapted for reduced mobility. They are let whole and take pets at no extra cost.