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In La Vanguardia Readers’ Photos we can enjoy the beautiful winter postcards of the frozen lake, surrounded by snow, of Puigcerdà, capital of Baixa Cerdanya.
This artificial pond, located in the northwest part of this town, invites you to walk along its irregular hexagon shape, with its cobbled base and the white landscape around it.
The surface of the lake has become a natural ice rink, on which the ducks and other aquatic birds that spend the winter in this idyllic place in Puigcerdà skate.
The drought does not seem to have affected this pond. The lake’s water supply comes from the Querol River and reaches Puigcerdà through an artificial irrigation ditch.
The first news of the existence of this lake dates back to the 13th century, specifically December 2, 1260, as described by Mosén Jaume Martí y Sanjaume in his book Diario de Puigcerdà.
In this diary appears a document where the owner of the properties of San Miguel de Cuixà in Cerdanya cedes to Arnald de Prat a piece of land next to the pond.
Citing the same source, in the work Historia de Puigcerdà and through the archaeological surveys carried out in 1991 by Oriol Mercadal and Jordi Campillo, archaeological remains of a human settlement dated to the 11th century were found (stone wall, rustic pavement, ceramic remains , a mule’s horseshoe), which could have lasted until the 13th century.