Historical Complex of Peralada

Peralada boasts a rich cultural heritage, a living testimony to the passage of time: it is the site of the first Iberian settlement to be documented right in the heart of the Empordà plain; the town was founded in the time of Charlemagne and razed to the ground during the French invasion of 1285. It was one of the most important towns in the process of constructing Catalonia during the Middle Ages: capital of one of the first Catalan counties; governed under the jurisdiction of one of the oldest families of viscounts, the Rocabertí; and birthplace of Ramon Muntaner, the great chronicler of Catalan expansion in the Mediterranean. The traces of this interesting past can still be seen in the old quarter: the walls, the castle, the churches, the Romanesque cloister of Sant Domènec, the twisting, narrow streets and alleyways, named after traditional trades, and the grand Gothic residences in Plaça Gran (main square) are all mediaeval elements that can be seen at first sight.