Queralbs () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the ''comarca'' of the

Ripollès Ripollès (; ) is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in the Comarques Gironines, Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Vall de Ribes, Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. In 2001, its population was 25,744, about 40% of whom ...

in the

province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Spain. It is situated in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

to the north of

Ribes de Freser Ribes de Freser () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Ripollès in Girona, Catalonia. It is situated at the confluence of the Freser, Rigard and Segadell rivers, north of Ripoll. It is known for its mineral water, paper manufactu ...

, near the peaks of Puigmal (2909 m), Infern (2896 m) and Noufonts (2864 m). Tourism and

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

are the bases of the local economy. The

Virgin of Nuria The Virgin of Nuria (Catalan ''Mare de Déu de Núria'') is a popular Roman Catholic shrine in the Valley of Nuria. The Catalan girls' name Núria () derives from the shrine.Marc Dubin The Rough Guide to the Pyrenees - Page 176 2004 - The Virgin ...

shrine is situated in the municipality, to the north of the village in

Vall de Núria Vall de Núria (, "The Valley of Núria") is a south-opening valley coming down from the crest of the Pyrenees within the municipality of Queralbs, province of Girona, community of Catalonia, Spain. The floor of the valley lies about above se ...

: it houses a romanesque mural image of ''la Mare de Déu de Núria''. The shrine is reached by

Vall de Núria Rack Railway The Vall de Núria Rack Railway (, ) is a mountain railway in the Pyrenees mountains in the north of the Catalonia region of Spain. The line connects Ribes de Freser with Queralbs and Vall de Núria in Ripollès, Girona. As Queralbs is the highe ...

from Ribes de Freser, which also serves the village. There is also a local road to Ribes de Freser (), which serves the

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

. The first historical mention of Queralbs is in the consecration act of the church of the Urgell Diocese in 836—thus the town's motto, ''poble mil·lenari'' (millennial town)—and its Romanesque church, dedicated to Saint James, dates to the late tenth century.

Earthquakes

Queralbs is located to the north-west of the active Amer- Brugent fault system. Queralbs was entirely destroyed in the Catalan earthquake of 1428 whose epicentre was in nearby

Camprodon Camprodon (; from ''Camp Rodó'' "Round Field", ultimately from Latin ''Campus Rotundus'') is a small town in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Ripollès in Province of Girona, Girona, Catalonia, Spain, located in the Pyrenees, near the Fren ...

.Banda E. & A. M. Correig (1984). The Catalan earthquake of February 2, 1428. ''Engineering Geology'', 20, pp. 89-97.

Demography

Notable people

For many years, Queralbs was the summer vacation home for the former president of the

Generalitat Generalitat (, literally in English 'Generality') is the name of two major medieval and early modern political institutions and their modern-day analogues in Kingdom of Spain. The ancient Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia we ...

Jordi Pujol Jordi Pujol i Soley (, born 9 June 1930) is a retired Catalan politician who was the leader of the party Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) from 1974 to 2003, and President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1980 to 2003. Early life ...

, and his wife, Marta Ferrusola.

Gallery

Queralbs - 51585118719.jpg Views of Queralbs 05.jpg Views of Queralbs 04.jpg Views of Queralbs 03.jpg Views of Queralbs 06.jpg

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan).

External links