Torre del Riu Castle
Torre del Riu (cat. Torre del Riu) – an ancient peasant manor, transformed (according to the fashion of the XIX century) into an imitation of a medieval castle. It is located in the Alp town of the Baixa Cerdanya (cat. Alp (Baixa Cerdanya)) comarca, Girona province, Catalonia, Spain.
The estate has the appearance of a castle surrounded by a battlement wall with two round towers. The building is built in the shape of a rectangle and consists of three floors. The facade is facing south, the entrance is guarded by two round turrets under high conical roofs. All openings are made in a pseudo-Gothic style, the windows are grouped in threes, and each group is framed by a pointed arch; between the arches you can see decorative heraldic elements.
The building is crowned with a four-slope slate roof. Next to the castle is a neo-romanesque chapel.
This fortress has unknown origins, but like many others, was turned into a cattle-breeding farm.
In 1896, the owner of the manor, an industrialist from Sabadell (cat. Sabadell), Josep Nicolau d’Olsine de Ferret (cat. Josep Nicolau d’Olzina i de Ferret), who in 1881 – 1892 restored the Torre d’En Feu Building (cat. torre d’En Feu) in his city, turned his estate into a French-style castle. The project, rich in pseudo-medieval elements, was carried out by architect Calixte Freixa Pla (cat. Calixte Freixa i Pla).
The building is declared to be an object of cultural heritage of all Spanish importance.
How to get there
From Andorra: N145, N260, N1411, LP4033b, E9, GIV4082
