If you drive often along the AP-7 highway to Barcelona, you probably noticed a formidable fortress located on the top of a high basaltic hill near the town of Hostalric. The place here is truly unique from a strategic point of view – the road connecting Girona and Barcelona is perfectly visible and controlled from the top of the hill. Trade and military caravans passed here since a long time, which is why the location for the construction of the fortress can’t be better than here. As a result of numerous armed clashes, the fortress was destroyed, then was built again. The present appearance of the fortress acquired as a result of the latest reconstruction in the end of the XVIII century. Until 1929 there was a permanent garrison in the fortress. And finally in 1963 this place was ranked among the objects of national cultural heritage.
A short story of the Hostalric fortress and photographs taken during a walk through it can be viewed at the link.