Mare de Déu de les Salines

Mare de Déu de les Salines is a sanctuary complex located south of the Puig de les Salines, at the northern edge of the municipality of Maçanet de Cabrenys in the Alt Empordà comarca of Catalonia, Spain. It lies about 15 kilometres from the town centre and is included in the Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. The site is a group of attached constructions comprising a chapel, a hostelry (hostatgeria), a mountain refuge, and a courtyard. The small church has a single pointed-vault nave and a semicircular apse oriented westward, with a later semicircular addition behind the apse serving as a sacristy. The front portal is a round arch with voussoirs, bearing the date 1687 and the initials JVR on its keystone. Above the façade rises a small single-arch bell gable. On the south wall there is another Romanesque door with a stepped arch and a tympanum filled with ashlar. The apse reflects a near-total renovation of the sanctuary at the end of the 17th century, and much of the hostelry was also built in that period. The chapel or hermitage is first mentioned in 1279, and by 1275 it was already completed and a chaplain was instituted there. In 1384 Guerau de Cabrera instituted the benefice of Saint Nicholas in the parish church, which included the maintenance of the chapel. During the French Wars of Religion, a group of Huguenots killed the hermit and caused damage, chopping up the statue of the Virgin. In 1640 a new alabaster image was sculpted. At the end of the 17th century the chapel underwent an almost total reform. The old hermit's house and the hostelry are on the south side, sheltered from the north winds; the hostelry, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, operates in summer, and part of the buildings are used as a refuge by the Centre Excursionista Empordanès de Figueres. The scattered hamlet of Les Salines lies on the mountain slopes with a population of approximately 40 residents. The sanctuary is a place of worship, pilgrimage, and mountain hospitality, and its website provides information for visitors and hikers.

The sanctuary of Mare de Déu de les Salines has its origins in the medieval period. The chapel or hermitage is first documented in 1279, and by 1275 it was already completed and a chaplain was instituted there. In 1384, Guerau de Cabrera instituted the benefice of Saint Nicholas in the parish church, which included the maintenance of the chapel. During the French Wars of Religion, a group of Huguenots attacked the site, killing the hermit and damaging the statue of the Virgin by chopping it into pieces. In 1640, a new alabaster image of the Virgin was sculpted. At the end of the 17th century, the chapel underwent an almost total reform, which included the construction of the current apse and much of the hostelry. The portal bears the date 1687 and the initials JVR. The old hermit's house and the hostelry are located on the south side, sheltered from the north winds; the hostelry itself was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In modern times, the hostelry operates during the summer, and part of the buildings serve as a refuge managed by the Centre Excursionista Empordanès de Figueres. The scattered hamlet of Les Salines, with about 40 inhabitants, lies on the mountain slopes. The sanctuary is included in the Inventory of Architectural Heritage of Catalonia.

• 1687

  Date engraved on the keystone of the front portal, marking the near-total reform of the sanctuary.

• 1640

  A new alabaster image of the Virgin was sculpted after Huguenot damage.

• The chapel was already completed and a chaplain was instituted there.

• First documentary mention of the chapel or hermitage.

• Guerau de Cabrera instituted the benefice of Saint Nicholas in the parish church, including maintenance of the chapel.

• Hostelry built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• Part of the buildings became a refuge of the Centre Excursionista Empordanès de Figueres.

A historic religious sanctuary and mountain hostelry offering summer accommodation and refuge services for hikers and pilgrims in the Alt Empordà.

• Chapel

  Small church with a single pointed-vault nave and semicircular apse, oriented westward.

• Hostatgeria (hostelry)

  Accommodation building from the 18th-19th centuries, operating in summer.

• Refugi de les Salines

  Mountain refuge managed by the Centre Excursionista Empordanès de Figueres.

1. 1Mare de Déu de les Salines - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Mare de Déu de les Salines - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org
3. 3Refugi de les Salinesca.salines-bassegoda.org