Orfeó Popular Olotí
The Orfeó Popular Olotí is a socio-cultural organisation founded in Olot in 1904. At the time of its creation, the Orfeó did not wish to follow a political line. It was a society whose members were local people and everyone was welcome. Today, the Orfeó continues to be apolitical and secular, thus being open to one and all and acting as a cultural reference point for the city of Olot. Theatre, choral singing, talks, concerts, exhibitions, photography, cinema, events, outings, the seat of other organisations and citizen participation are among the activities that are carried out there. It is equipped with a theatre, cafeteria and restaurant, rehearsal and meeting rooms, as well as two exhibition spaces.
Other places
Olot Municipal Park was created on the Torre Castanys estate. It features a Modernista (Catalan Art Nouveau) building and gardens designed by Josep Fontserè and currently houses the offices of La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park and its information centre. The garden is home to foreign tree species and natural woods of common oak and other trees and plants typical of humid oak groves. The presence of this natural vegetation characteristic of the native flora, in addition to a number of endangered species typical of central Europe and uncommon in Catalonia, led to its transformation into a Botanic Garden. One of the park’s gems is the monumental oak grove with centuries-old common oak trees and other unique trees (ash, holly and maple, among others), just a hint at what the area’s ancient forests must have been like.
Olot’s Teatre Principal is an Italian-style theatre. In other words, the stage is on one side and the audience is on the other. The area for the audience is horseshoe-shaped and consists of an auditorium and three tiers. With a capacity to seat 450 spectators, the theatre also holds a rehearsal room and a lounge. It is a municipal facility where the performing arts team works on the city’s performing arts projects, from regular programming to educational initiatives, as well as Circus in the Square and the Sismògraf Festival.
The El Torín hall is a multipurpose space measuring almost one thousand square metres and seating up to approximately 700 people. It is one of the main venues for the city’s cultural events. Concerts, music events, talks, dance sessions and festivals such as the MOT literature festival and the Sismògraf performing arts festival are scheduled there throughout the year. It is a highly versatile space that can be adapted to the nature and needs of the events held there.
The river runs, escorted by the riverbank and streams flow into it. Flowing from the plane tree grove, accompanying it on the bank and flowing out of the plateau, are the reasons underlying the pavilion’s raison d’être. An inherent desire that cannot otherwise be articulated, the proportionate and coherent realisation of an idea.
Can Jombi is an old knitwear factory. Currently owned by Olot City Council, it is used as the seat of the municipal services squad and also as a warehouse for the city council. The name comes from a wine-selling shop attached to the factory that was called “Can Joan Vi”, and that was purchased by one of the first owners of Can Jombi in a move to extend the factory area.
The Espai Cràter is a multidisciplinary centre that fosters knowledge about volcanoes, science and society. The new facility boasts a benchmark exhibition on volcanology. Wholly interactive, it employs various exhibition languages. Besides the exhibition area, the Espai Cràter features the Sala Magma (which hosts a wide variety of cultural and business events), the Aula Bufador (where educational activities are mainly executed) and the Zona Sísmica (workspace and documentation point). The Espai Cràter is a contemporary initiative that works in an innovative, experiential and participatory manner to address the global challenges that bear an impact at local level. A local facility that generates value in La Garrotxa region, developing economic, social and environmental sustainability. The Espai Cràter welcomes ideas that help to preserve our landscape, to understand the world and to create a better society.
Over and above the information and loan service covering books, music and films, the Marià Vayreda Library offers a programme of activities aimed at both adult and child audiences: reading clubs, storytime, book presentations, talks, exhibitions, concerts and dance and performing arts proposals. In recent years, the library has lent some of its spaces to turn them into Sismògraf stages, becoming one of the festival’s foremost venues.
Montsacopa Volcano is listed as a preferred Site of Natural Interest in La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park and Partial Nature Reserve. The clay pit is a former clay quarry exploited between the 16th century and the 1960s. The set of layers we can observe in the clay pit lend us an insight into what the eruption was like. We can see the layers of lapilli and blocks produced by the Strombolian activity in the first phase, and the much more compacted layers of ash, deposited by the pyroclastic flow of gas and volcanic matter at high temperatures of phreatomagmatic activity in the second phase, which resulted in the circular crater.
El Firal Petit is a specific part of the Passeig d’en Blay (EL Firal) promenade, especially conceived and designed for large-scale public events. It is a space located in the heart of the city that hosts all sorts of events throughout the year: the open-air market on Mondays, various fairs, the local city festival’s big concerts... It is also one of the regular Sismògraf venues on account of its proximity to Olot’s Teatre Principal and the space’s suitability to host performing arts proposals.
The Plaça de Braus in Olot is the oldest bullring in Catalonia and is listed as a protected cultural asset. Built at the base of Montsacopa volcano, its walls are made of volcanic stone. Following the declaration of Olot as an anti-bullfighting city and the abolition of any bull-related activity, this space has been designated for other non-bullfighting activities. Performing arts, music, circus acts and cultural proposals in general have played a primordial role in the new uses made of this space.
La Garrotxa Regional Archive was created in 1983 as a result of an agreement signed between Olot City Council and the Department of Culture. The current headquarters of the Archive was inaugurated on 16 March 2012. It is a new building located in the city centre, designed by architects Joan and Isabel Rodon. The facility covers a total surface area of 1,735 m2, brings together more than 4,000 linear metres of documentation and fulfils the role of county archive, Olot municipal archive and La Garrotxa County Council archive. It plays host to 249 holdings and collections, from various sources and with a chronological breadth extending from 1117 to 2021.
Set against a natural backdrop, this athletics track accentuates the values of the existing landscape and bring athletics races closer to nature. The track is built in a clearing in a common oak forest, in a hollow, which is closed to the forest and from where the view of the forest is enhanced. Adjacent forest, remote forest and far-off forest are the relationships forged between the track and the landscape and that enhance the seating tiers as small terraces or as a slope between clearings.
The Fonts de Sant Roc space is unique. The fountain improved by Josep Berga i Boix in 1885 is located in the former water supply point for the whole city of Olot. It is a monumental fountain formed by a wall of volcanic stone ashlars, with two spouts from which a constant flow of water comes out. The centre of the fountain was adorned with glazed tiles featuring the figure of Sant Roc in 1974. Surrounding the fountain is a space for gatherings and other events enclosed by a volcanic stonewall on the river banks. It is one of the usual starting points for walks along the River Fluvià, a trail dotted with river spots, fountains, mills, dams and riparian forests.
The Escola de Sant Roc’s car park is an open space measuring more than 1,500 square metres perfectly integrated into the environment and boasting ideal conditions for performing arts events. Due to its proximity to some of Sismògraf’s most unique venues (Pista d’atletisme athletics track, Els Tossols, Fonts de Sant Roc, etc.), the Escola de Sant Roc car park has ended up becoming another stage for a festival that has moved part of the programme to the city outskirts and natural settings.
This crater 120 m in diameter and 12 m deep is found at the top of Montsacopa’s volcanic cone. Its cup shape (“copa” in Catalan) is what gives the volcano its name. Bordering the crater to the south is the Church of Sant Francesc and the Carlist towers are to the north. The circular crater is the product of the last phreatomagmatic eruption, when magma interacted with groundwater and triggered an explosive eruption. The crater depression formed due to the expulsion and accumulation of pyroclasts.
Plaça de l’U d’Octubre, formerly known as Plaça del Teatre, was renamed to commemorate the Catalan independence referendum held on 1 October 2017.
This square occupies a large area between the boulevard Passeig d’en Blay and the street Carrer dels Dolors. Thanks to its location next to Olot’s Teatre Principal, it has become one of the regular Sismògraf stages. This year, in addition to hosting a number of performing arts proposals, it will be the festival’s Epicentre, somewhere to relax and unwind, to engage in conversation, to see installations or simply to watch time go by.
Monument dedicated to the defenders of the Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War and to all those who helped reinstate democracy and freedom. Its author, Claudi Casanovas, claimed that we cannot grasp the hardship of so many humans, which is actually invisible.
The monument is an unadorned concrete cube, with a number of openings in the corners that afford you a glimpse inside, to see what is visible in the invisible. It is a colossal piece of clay with hints of red, brown and green, with lots of edges and outward and inward cracks. It is moving around the piece that the pain comes back and keeps coming back.
La Carbonera, located on the ground floor of Olot’s Teatre Principal and with direct access from the square Plaça de l’U d’Octubre, is a space open to the city’s unique cultural initiatives: performing arts festivals, literary events, music events, talks, exhibitions... Its use seeks to make the space one of the nerve centres of this type of event in the city. It is always one of Sismògraf’s programme venues and, at the same time, a meeting point and a place for recreation and relaxation.
Can Trincheria is one of the largest mansions in Olot. The building dates back to the late 17th century, when Josep de Trincheria, ennobled by King Charles II of Spain, moved to Olot. Historically speaking, the family was prominent in the military and political world. The house has gradually been transformed and decorated to the taste of each era, but different rooms have been preserved that reflect the styles of each period. One noteworthy feature is the monumental nativity scene begun in the 19th century. In 1980, Can Trincheria became a House-Museum under the auspices of the Museu de la Garrotxa. It is one of the most frequently used spaces to host the various exhibitions that Sismògraf has presented in successive editions of the festival.
The Museu de la Garrotxa’s mission is to explain and disseminate artistic heritage related to the social and industrial history of the Garrotxa region. The cornerstone of the museum is the creation of the Olot School of Drawing in 1783 and its subsequent history. It provides an insight into such prominent artists and artistic movements as the landscape painting of the Olot School with Joaquim Vayreda, Marià Vayreda and Josep Berga i Boix, Modernisme (Catalan Art Nouveau) through Miquel Blay and the painting La càrrega (The Charge) byRamon Casas, and Noucentisme (early 20th-century Catalan cultural movement) thanks to the work of Josep Clarà and Francesc Vayreda.
Santa Magdalena is a chapel in the city of Olot classified as a cultural asset of local interest. Historic records point to the existence of a chapel in the 15th century, but the current chapel dates from 1935. The stone façade, with a lintel dating from 1770, belonged to an earlier chapel. Over the course of time, this church has undergone several alterations. A statue of Saint Mary Magdalene, painted in recent times, from the 17th-18th centuries, is venerated inside.
The Plaça Major was built in the 15th century and its ground plan is of Renaissance style. The middle of this main square features Olot’s coat of arms and references to the Farándula olotina [Olot’s folkloric effigies], a piece by the Olot artist Quim Domene. The place of Olot was mentioned for the first time in history in 872 in a precept granted by Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, to the monastery of Sant Aniol d’Aguja, which made provision for the use of a vast territory, including a large swathe of what is Alta Garrotxa today.
The church of San Francesc was built in 1814, at the end of the French Campaign, in honour of the miraculous image of the Holy Christ. The building was constructed on the site of an old military enclosure on the highest part of Monsacopa volcano, the remains of which are still visible in the surrounding area. It is a building that pays tribute to Franciscan austerity, which divests it of superfluous ornamentation. The bell tower dominates its silhouette.
Olot’s Parc de les Mores is one of the largest urban parks in the city. Found right next to the Fluvià river and surrounded by trees and paths, it is a very popular place among walkers and cyclists. It plays host to an area with swings and a calisthenics space with fitness equipment. A large natural space where visitors can enjoy the greenery and shade in summer and the carpet of leaves in autumn. Nearby is the Moixina wetlands area.
The Olot Municipal Cemetery, at the foot of the Montsacopa volcano, first opened on 20 August 1821. Olot’s cemetery then consisted of a single enclosure. Of the three tiered sections that exist today, initially there was only the first one and the entrance, which is still preserved today. The beauty of the tombs in the second enclosure still enthralls visitors and is a hallmark of the necropolis’ identity. The cemetery features works by the sculptors Celestí Devesa, Josep Llimona, Josep Berga, Emeteri Vélez, Martí Casadevall, Ignacio Buxó and Joan Ferrés, among others.
L'Astacifactoria Molí de les Fonts és un centre de reproducció de crancs de riu de potes blanques. Reprodueix aquesta espècie des de l’any 2005 per poder reforçar unes poblacions delmades per la presència de l'afanomicosi, una malaltia fúngica introduïda per les espècies de cranc de riu d’origen americà. L'objectiu del centre és intentar evitar l’extinció d’aquesta espècie autòctona i essencial pels nostres ecosistemes fluvials.
Can Vayreda is a building in the city of Olot listed in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. An ancestral home dating from the mid-18th century restored in the mid-19th century in the neo-Gothic style, where the Vayreda family made their home. A house between party walls, it consists of a ground floor altered to house commercial premises and three upper floors. The main entrance is located to the left of the building and has a large ventilation grille. The upper floors have balconies with railings, those on the first floor have corbels featuring the head of a woman in Modernista style and the upper floors have corbels adorned with stylised foliage.
The Cloister of the former El Carme Convent in Olot, built in 1603 by the master Llàtzer Cisterna, stands as a significant masterpiece of the Catalan Renaissance. It is an integral part of the Olot School of Art today.
The Arxiu Comarcal de la Garrotxa (ACGAX, the Garrotxa County Archive) was established in 1983 following an agreement between Olot City Council and the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Culture. Its new headquarters, a newly constructed building located on Puig del Roser and designed by architects Joan and Isabel Rodon, were inaugurated on 16 March 2012.
Observation point overlooking the Fluvià River, designed by architects Eduard Callís and Guillem Moliner. It comprises a cylindrical octagonal metal structure standing at 6 metres in height, linked the street Carrer de Sant Miquel by a footbridge. Positioned seven metres above the level of the river, the observation point is supported by a column and is an integral component of a riverside promenade renovation project.
A centrally located square, popularly known for the Font de l’Àngel, a modestly sized Baroque fountain protected as a local heritage site. The current fountain is not the original; in the early 18th century, it was attached to the house of Francesc Ferrer i Clausells. However, in 1724, it was moved to the centre of the square, where it remains today. A watering trough was also added during the relocation. The reason for the placement of the angel figure remains unknown. During the Carlist Wars, the statue was destroyed. In 1892, as part of renovations to the square, the figure was rebuilt. It was destroyed once again in 1933 before being reconstructed. Finally, in 1994, the original statue was replaced with a replica by Lluís Colldecarrera Compte.
The Can Serra Forest, also known as the Salvador Grau Forest, grows on the lava flow of the Puig Jordà volcano, within the municipality of Les Preses and the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. A therapeutic forest trail winds through it, designed to help visitors reconnect with nature through a walk in this mature woodland. The route, flanked by dry-stone walls, cleared fields and rural shelters, is surrounded by a magnificent pedunculate oak forest, interspersed with ash trees, maples, hornbeams, beeches and other deciduous species.
The Espai Cooperatiu del Nucli Antic is housed on the ground floor of Casa Serra, also known as Casa dels Nassos, a listed building in Olot protected as a local cultural heritage site. It is widely regarded as the finest example of rationalist architecture in the city, featuring hallmark elements of the style such as continuous horizontal windows, ship-style railings and a lack of ornamentation. At the same time, it features a relatively uncommon floor plan, with successive overhangs arranged diagonally to the street.
The ground floor of the building is home to the Garrotxa-Ripollès branch of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC). As part of the Old Town regeneration project, led by architect Itziar González and promoted by Olot City Council, the COAC will share its facilities with the initiative, joining forces to help transform and restore Olot’s Nucli Antic.
Castell Sespasa, also known as Castell de s’Espasa, is located in the municipality of Montagut i Oix (Garrotxa) and has been designated a Cultural Asset of National Interest. The remains of its walls stand atop towering vertical rocks above the Gorja d’en Roca ravine, near the village of Sadernes. It is thought that the site was never a true fortress but rather a small fortified outpost, where a few men were stationed to keep watch over the route towards Sant Aniol and Bassegoda, and from there to France.
The Parc de Pedra Tosca, located within the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa (Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park), is a patchwork of small fields dotted with dry-stone huts, tossols (small conical mounds used in traditional farming), and cold-air vents, all separated by a maze of dry-stone walls. These plots sit atop the lava flow emitted by the Puig Jordà volcano around 17,000 years ago. The shift from oak forest to farmland followed Mendizábal’s 19th-century secularisation, when church lands were transferred to local inhabitants who cultivated them.
The careful restoration and reclamation of the landscape earned the Parc de Pedra Tosca project the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize, awarded to the architects RCR Arquitectes in 2003.
The Centre Cultural els Catòlics in Olot is a cultural association committed to bringing culture to the capital of La Garrotxa. For over seventy years it has been responsible for organising one of Olot’s most important events: the Campament i la Cavalcada Reial — the Three Kings’ arrival and royal procession.
Station opened in 2008, located very close to the center of Olot and well connected. It is a transport hub that connects the capital of La Garrotxa with other municipalities in the region and also with the main mobility connections with the rest of Catalonia. The Olot bus station has a contemporary architectural structure with an area covered by pergolas and another enclosed area, which houses the ticket offices, toilets and bar-cafeteria. In a region without a train, like La Garrotxa, this bus station acts as a public transport hub.
