The
valley of the Muga
We are so very proud of our coast, the Costa Brava,
that we often forget that the Pyrenees’s and other close-by delightful areas
are worth a visit. We want to make
an effort to make our readers familiar with other areas, and in this case one of
the nicest landscapes of the region: the
valley of the river La Muga and its artificial lake, Boadella.
The valley is scarcely a half hour drive by car away from the coast.
Impatient travellers can take the motorway N-II from Figueres toward La
Jonquera, and in a few kilometres, on the left, the village Pont de Molins where
the Muga valley begins. Others will
use the smaller road that passes by Garriguella and will be rewarded with a
gentle curving road through landscape resembling Toscana.
The green: the
Muga and the forest quickly banish remembrances of the summer heat.
Small villages such as Biure, Les Escaules and Boadella are all worthy of
a visit. The Muga invites for
bathing and the forest for walking. We
recommend however to our readers to procure a local road map and discover the
area for yourself. It is worthwhile.
Climate,
vegetation and animal world of the Muga valley
The climate of the valley corresponds to the typical
Mediterranean climate, hot and /or damp (dryness’s in the summer and mild
winters, with rains in the autumn and spring).
The temperatures are rather moderate.
The annual average is 17C. The
medium temperatures in January are 13C, and in the hottest month, August, they
amount up to 30,3C. The
precipitation amounts to 680 min per year.
The wind Tramontana blows primarily in the winter, sixty to seventy days
per year.
Most
years, it does not snow at all, and if there is a
snowfall, it does not stay for long. Likewise, the feared hailstorms, feared by
farmers at planting and harvest times, are also a rare occurrence.
During the autumn, rainfalls swell the Muga, but unlike former times,
this is no longer dangerous since they straightened the riverbed when the built
the dam, in 1969, for the artificial lake of Darnius.
Also, the vegetation corresponds to the Mediterranean.
The mountains are covered all year round with green pines.
In addition, with stone oaks and underwood (juniper, ivy, cork oaks,
heath herb, broom, rosemary). Along
the Muga, many trees form small forests: plane
trees, ashes . . . that entice the visitor to rest a while in their shade.
Between the fields and gardens are oaks and many
different welfare plants. We can
admire majestically high olive trees, true wonderworks of the nature; the olive
trees of the "Carrer sec" in Boadella are the oldest and the largest
of the Alt Empordà. And in the
autumn, we find a large diversity of species of mushrooms between the mosses in
the adjacent mountains.
Around
Boadella, the influence of humans has changed the fauna over the course of the
time. Old farmhouses still carry
the names of animals, which are not there any longer living in this region:
"Cau de Llop", the wolf hole for example or " El Corb,"
the raven. In the mountains,
however, the wild pig remains well established.
And, we meet game chickens, squirrels, hedgehogs, rabbits, and hares.
Numerous species of bird populate the area:
the ice bird, woodpecker, water blackbirds and many, many wild ducks
amuse themselves on the bank or in the water of the Muga.
In
the gardens nest and sing (depending upon their skill and proclivity) owls,
partridges, pigeons, the cuckoo, magpie,
nightingales,
barn swallows, sparrows, as well as the robin.
The variety of the fish in the Muga highlights the
quality of the clean fresh water. Carp
is in the abundance, river eels and barbs enjoy life between the stones, and the
trout population is regenerating each year. Fishing is permitted in large parts of the valley; it is
sufficient a simple permission (information in the restaurant in Boadella).
The
Muga - valley and its history
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In
the year 844 Boadella (at that time " Buchatella ") belonged to
the county Besalu and was property of the monastery Sant Marti de les Escaules.
This history is included in a document, which Karl the bald gave
to Adulf, first in particular well-known Abbott of the monastery.
In the year 977, the place was called Bozelego, then, later Bodelego.
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Sant Marti de les Escaules |
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Beginning in the year 1115 the municipalities of the Muga valley belonged
to the parish church Santa Cecilia de Terrades.
A little later, 1123, Ramon Berenguer III entrusted the area to the count
of Empuries. The family Vilamari,
raised into the nobility, and a branch of this family, became the barons of
Boadella, build and transform a for the first time 1321 mentioned castle into a
gothic palace.
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Up to the XVI
century, the family Vilamari led the fate of the valley and its
inhabitants.
Afterwards, the change of ownership became more rapid:
The new Sirs are called Antic d'Almogaver, Albanell etc.
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| Biure |
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In 17 Century did the population not only have to pay
deliveries to the castle owner Mr. Noell, but also to the monastery Sant Pere de
Rodes. In 1691, Escaules
became part of Boadella. In the 18th
century, the valley experienced an economic bloom. Released from the pressure of medieval feudalism, the
inhabitants built numerous new houses, which were passed on to their first-born.
During the large war (Guerra Gran) Frenchman occupied
the valley and the population fled into the mountains, to save their own skin.
The valley passed at the side of Isabel II. And the liberals the Karolin
war. The period of the civil war
(1936-1939) was particularly bitter for the valley, the repression touched the
citizens of the small places enormously; nine persons, all republicans, were
publicly executed.
After the civil war, peace returned.
The inhabitants returned to their rural traditions, which still exist
also today.
Finca
Paraiso, Darnius.
Hotel Restaurant El Moli, Pont
de Molins; Restaurant Nautic,
Darnius;
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