Tous Castle

Conquered by Wilfred the Hairy at the end of the 9^th century, the castle was rebuilt and the place repopulated when the area fell under the control of the Bishopric of Vic (with Abbot Oliba at its head) in the 11^th century.

The castle had two enclosures: the upper enclosure, which contained the living quarters of the lords of the castle; and the lower enclosure, which housed the church of Sant Martí. One of the most notable features of the original building is the square tower, to which other elements were added in the Gothic and later periods. Some sections of the walls of the two enclosures have been preserved although they have gradually been absorbed within the town. The church was originally built in the Romanesque style but was altered considerably during the Gothic and neoclassical periods.

The first known castellans of the castle were the Mediona family at the turn of the 11^th century. It later passed into the hands of the Tous family, who held its lordship from the 14^th century. However, its ruin in the early 15^th century led it to change hands again (first to the Perellós family, then to the Saplana family), until it became the monastery of Sant Jeroni de la Murtra at the turn of the 16^th century. With the enactment of the law on ecclesiastical confiscations in the 19^th century, the building passed into private hands and is still privately owned today.

The history of Tous Castle runs in parallel to historical events of great importance, since the rise of the Tous family, thanks to the conquest of the Kingdom of Valencia and the subsequent Mediterranean expansion, is reflected in the successive renovations and extensions of the castle. It is also worth mentioning the well-known legend of the Lady of Tous.