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Mini guide to Girona
The city of Girona, standing on a fortress-like hill, is situated in the Ter Valley between the rocky massifs of the Gavarres and the Guillerie by the banks of the river Onyar, with a distinctly Catalunyan character. It is also a launch point for those intending to travel to the Pyranees and tiny sovereign state of Andorra.
The town is known as the city of 1,000 sieges, with its ramparts built and rebuilt by the Iberians, Romans throughout the Middle Ages. Its history has been characterized by endless military episodes that have immortalized its name and bequeathed the city with a hotchpotch of architectural styles.
The city's earliest site was near Gironella Tower, where there are still remains of the old Roman complex, and it was not until the 10th century that districts were built around the early Sant Feliu Church and Sant Pere de Galligants Monastery. The Cathedral, a 13th Century construction, holds the city's greatest treasure - The Tapestry of Creation, a unique work dating from about 1100AD.
Throughout the 11th century, the commercial and handicraft nucleus of Mercadel was developed.
Girona was an Arab town for over two hundred years, a fact apparent in the maze of narrow streets in the centre. There was also a continuous Jewish presence here for six hundred years, made particularly famous in the Middle Ages for its celebrated Cabalistic School. The past can also be felt in the atmosphere of the narrow alleyways of the Jewish Quarter. Here there is a very interesting new museum that is both informative and enjoyable.
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