5/5 Khalil H. 1 year ago on Google • 162 reviews
Various
historians
assert
that
the
Sant
Marçal
or
Cerdanyola
Castle
was
built
during
the
first
third
of
the
11th
century,
when
the
existence
of
the
Sant
Marçal
church
was
already
documented.
Unlike
the
church,
however,
the
Castle
was
not
clearly
mentioned
until
the
first
half
of
the
12th
century,
when
Ramón
Berenguer
IV,
Count
of
Barcelona,
included
it
among
the
possessions
he
donated
to
his
seneschal,
Ramón
Guillem
de
Montcada.
In
1225
the
seneschal
sold
the
castle
to
Ramón
de
Plegamans.
The
buyer’s
son,
Marimón
de
Plegamans,
was
the
founder
of
the
Marimón
family,
one
of
the
most
distinguished
of
the
period.
The
current
owners
of
the
castle
are
his
descendants.The
title
of
the
Marquis
of
Serdañola
was
granted
in
1690
to
Félix
de
Marimón,
member
of
the
council
of
S.M
in
Italy
and
in
recognition
of
his
help
to
the
Crown.
The
current
owner
of
the
castle
is
the
XXII
Marqués
de
Serdañola.
Thus,
it
can
be
said
that
the
castle
has
been
in
the
hands
of
the
same
family
for
700
years.
ARCHITECTURE
Originally,
the
castle
was
a
building
with
a
square
floor
plan
enclosing
a
central
courtyard,
and
that
included
a
tower
and
a
Gothic
chapel
surrounded
by
a
moat.
In
1895
the
Arròspide
family
commissioned
Cayetano
Buïgas
—an
architect
who
was
well
known
at
the
time
for
his
design
of
the
monument
to
Christopher
Columbus
in
Barcelona—to
adapt
the
building
for
use
as
a
second
residence.
His
adaptation
respected
the
original
structure
while
covering
the
building
with
a
fantastic
decoration
inspired
by
Romanesque
and
Gothic
architecture.
In
the
Church
of
Sant
Marçal
the
Gothic
door
and
the
keys
of
the
vaults
built
into
the
facade
are
preserved,
one
of
them
with
the
image
of
the
Saint.
The
base
as
well
as
part
of
the
moat
that
can
be
seen
today
in
a
good
stretch
and
that
is
landscaped
are
preserved
from
the
outer
wall
that
surrounded
the
castle.
During
the
last
thirty
years
an
enormous
effort
has
been
made
to
restore
the
building
to
its
exterior
and
interior
as
well
as
to
expand
and
improve
its
gardens
and
ponds.
Don
José
Luis
Vives,
a
specialist
in
castle
restoration,
has
intervened
in
this
restoration
as
a
number
of
master
craftsmen.
For
the
redesign
of
the
garden
we
have
had
the
collaboration
of
the
prestigious
landscaper
Don
Luis
González
Camino.
The
Sant
Marçal
church
conserves
its
Gothic
door
and
the
keystones
of
the
vaults
embedded
in
its
façade,
one
of
which
includes
the
sculpted
image
of
the
Saint.
Of
the
outer
wall
that
surrounded
the
castle,
the
base
is
still
in
place,
as
well
as
a
generous
visible
stretch
of
the
moat,
which
is
landscaped.
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