The Heart of Girona, Spain (Where Gumbo Was #163)

As three of our readers (SSF, GarryRF and Traveling Canuck) correctly guessed, last week’s mystery location for Gumbo was Girona, Spain. For one of the readers, who actually appears in the corner of one of the clues, it was actually no mystery at all, since she grew up in the area and attended the university there. In fact, meeting up with her there when we were all on vacation from New York is how I met Girona in the first place.

Girona has a long history as an important city, sitting at the meeting of three rivers, and commanding a geographically important spot: If you want to invade Spain from France, or France from Spain, the route around the Pyrenees Mountains passes through Girona. Girona has been besieged 25 times and captured seven times, the last in 1809 during the Napoleonic wars. If you want to trade, it’s also the route for that.

That long history and location have given Girona the feel of a bigger city than it is today, with around 100,000 population. We arrived at the main rail station, in the modern area of the city, but after meeting up with our friend, we spent almost all our time in the historic center, including one of the most unusual walks around it: the old city defensive all now survives as the Passeig de la Muralla, a pedestrian stroll along its top. It’s not only a great view all around, it also gives you a sense of the old town. Below, we climb up to the top, and some of the views from the wall.

Over those long years, Girona has seen many rulers and peoples, and all have left their marks on the city. It was already inhabited when the Romans arrived and called it Gerunda. They were followed by Visigoths, Moors, Charlemagne, Wilfred the Hairy (yes…), and finally the kings of Aragon. During a few centuries of that time, up to 1492, it was also the home of a flourishing Jewish community; the old ghetto, or Call, is one of Europe’s best-preserved.

So, as you can expect, there’s a wide variety of architecture to be seen in the city, and because the old city is on a fairly steep hill, you can expect a lot of climbing. Just a sample, above, Catalan Gothic cathedral with its 86-but-seems-like-more steps up to the entrance. And, as you can expect, this is not the first cathedral or first religious building on the site; the ancient cathedral it replaced was originally used as a mosque.

Moderniste and other later styles were also active here, as you can see above.

With its three rivers, a variety of bridges are needed, including the one below, which seems undistinguished in appearance; it’s the pedigree that’s notable—it was designed by Gustave Eiffel, and bears a family resemblance in miniature to his railroad bridge over the Rhone at Arles. Another bridge can be seen in this view of the colorful houses along the Onyar river, which are another of Girona’s landmarks.

Speaking of landmarks, here’s one that invites audience participation. Just as tossing coins into Rome’s Trevi fountain is supposed to guarantee you’ll return to Rome, and safely, local tradition invites kissing (some say wiping) the posterior of this pole-climbing lion.

Our time in Girona was barely enough for a taste, and I hope to return for more—and yes, I did deal with the lion. If you’re planning to go, I recommend the site of the Girona city tourist bureau which has a lot of information, in English. You might also be interested in this AngloItalian Slow Vegan blog on Girona for a good one-day itinerary.