A historic road, a bridge with a rounded arch and a tradition whose activity today is centred on Hostal Mallorquines: Les Mallorquines offers several specific points of interest for a culturally focused trip. The town’s history spans several centuries; Catalan cuisine and wine add to the picture of local culture.
Road, houses and settlement history
Carrer de les Mallorquines is a section of the Royal Road that connected Hostalric with Girona. The street thus provides a local link to a historic route between the two places. The houses also offer a sense of the period: Can Brugués is one of the houses in the settlement of Mallorquines that can be dated to the 15th or 16th century.
The presence of the hostals along the historic road probably initially encouraged the settlement of people who supported the transport of goods and travellers, the repair of carriages, and the care of draft animals. The road and the houses thus tell different aspects of the settlement’s history: the connection between places on the one hand, and the dating of its buildings on the other.
The Pont de la riera de Vallcanera
The Pont de la riera de Vallcanera was built between the 13th and 14th centuries as a single-span bridge with a rounded arch. Its span is about ten metres. The crossing runs over two slopes, is about four metres wide and is bordered by stone railings. These measurements refer to different parts of the structure: the arch spans around ten metres, while the crossing is about four metres wide. “Single-span” refers to the single arch; the rounded-arch form describes its shape.
Compared with the houses in the settlement, including Can Brugués, which can be dated to the 15th or 16th century, the bridge represents an earlier period of construction. There is currently an information board at the bridge providing access to digital reconstructions of the structure. The bridge thus offers both specific architectural features and a digital way to view its reconstruction.
Joc dels Ous and Catalan cuisine
The Joc dels Ous brings together historical tradition and present-day activity. According to oral tradition, agricultural workers were paid in eggs around Easter. On Easter Tuesday, they went to the local inns to play for eggs in the game known as “joc del 31”. Today, the Joc dels Ous activity is centred on Hostal Mallorquines, where the eggs used for the tradition are also sold. The tradition places the game within an Easter custom, while the current account identifies the hostal as the activity’s focal point.
The local connection is also evident in the cuisine. The Hostal Mallorquines restaurant offers a daily-changing menu based on traditional Catalan cuisine and featuring products from the surrounding area. The hostal’s wine cellar offers homemade wine produced according to the establishment’s traditional methods. These are two distinct culinary aspects: a daily-changing menu featuring local products, and wine made according to the house tradition.
For the broader travel overview: Sils.
