Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Les Escaules
The village of Les Escaules, situated in the Alt Empordà region of Girona, forms part of the municipality of Boadella de Empordà. It is bordered by the River Muga, although the Caula stream, very close to the town, forms a 30-metre waterfall that is well worth a visit.
Visitors can also explore the town via its narrow, steep streets, which converge on the Plaza Mayor, from where you can admire the olive and almond trees that dot the plain. The farmhouses were the heart of the village in the 11th and 12th centuries, alongside the old Romanesque church of Sant Martí (12th–13th centuries), although flooding meant that construction had to begin at a higher elevation. The church was abandoned in the late 18th century so that a new one could be built within the village, dedicated to the same saint.
Les Escaules Castle, built on a 235-metre-high hill to guard the border between the counties of Empúries and Besalú, dates back to at least the 12th century, although the ruins that can be visited today are from the 14th and 15th centuries. Now hidden among pine trees, its tower, crowned with battlements, was around 10 metres high and was surrounded by a walled enclosure.
The houses in Les Escaules date from the 16th to the 18th centuries. They are recognisable by their façades featuring river pebbles and their windows framed with ashlar stones. What’s more, Amunt Street, the longest street in the village, is lined with restored houses featuring flower-filled balconies. These streets conceal details such as doorways with semicircular arches featuring voussoirs, early medieval walls, and a covered passageway with a lowered vault that may have once been an entrance.
Les Escaules has enjoyed a vibrant cultural life, particularly in the first half of the 20th century, and today it is the La Unió Escaulenca association – with over a century of history and comprising a large proportion of the local community – that is responsible for organising the town’s festivals.
Highlights of the calendar include the Sant Martí Festival, featuring activities for children and young people in November, as well as sardanas, traditional dance routines. The San Martín Festival, which used to pay tribute to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of La Unión Escaulenca, on the first Saturday in July, and is now celebrated with a communal meal, games and dancing.