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The origin of the town of Albons, the protagonist of this photographic report in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia, are the fortifications of the old castle and the parish church of Sant Cugat, where later a group of houses grouped around the hill.
Albons appears documented from the 12th century with the forms Alburnos, Alburnis and Albornis, which originally designated a place of shelter or residence.
Therefore, it is not surprising that this small town is considered today as a haven of calm in the Baix Empordà. In fact, Albons was precisely a place of stay and shelter for the Count of Rosselló during the 12th century.
The town’s castle, one of its attractions, is mentioned in documents from the 13th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, the count of Empúries Ponç V had it fortified.
Of the historical heritage of Albons, the parish church also stands out, a remarkable Romanesque construction from the 10th to the 13th centuries. The apse and façade from the 10th-11th centuries have been preserved, with the typical irregular ashlars. The extension of the main nave, in the 12th-13th centuries, was included in the courtyard of the castle.
The town is located in the center of the narrowest sector of the Empordà alluvial plain drained by the Ter and the Fluvià, between the Montgrí and Valldavià mountain ranges, on the border with the Alt Empordà.
The population lives off of irrigated and dryland agriculture, especially olive trees and vineyards, as well as sheep, cattle and pig farming, and also tourism, which is so important throughout the Empordà.
Once in Albons it is also a good idea to visit the hermitage of Sant Grau and take a walk through the Valldavià mountain range.
