The Secrets of Cardona Castle and the Magical Salt Mountain

What to Expect

Knight's Castle
This castle is included in the top ten castles in Europe. It is located in the northeast part of the town of the same name on a hill 585 meters high. Facts say that a defensive structure stood in this place already in the 8th century in the time of the Carolingians, but it was destroyed by the Moors. Count Wilfred the Hairy rebuilt the castle on the mountain in 886. Since then, Cardona has been the most fortified outpost in Catalonia. Even in the War of the Spanish Succession, Cardona fell a week after Barcelona - on September 18, 1714. The fortress faced two sieges by French troops at that time. But the forces were unequal, and the fortress was taken. In the late 18th - early 19th century, the bastions of Cardona were restored, by that time the monastery had become barracks again. The fortress was restored after the Civil War of 1936-39.

There is a legend associated with this castle about a 13-year-old girl named Adelaide, who died of longing in the castle tower. Today, the Cardona Castle houses a hotel with a room with ghosts.

Salt Mountain
Three kilometers from the medieval castle lies the Salt Mountain. Montaña de la Sal, or Salina de Cardona, over 160m high, is a unique geological phenomenon that has existed for almost 40 million years and was a long-time source of prosperity for the town. The Salt Mountain was first described by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD and was subsequently mentioned by other Roman scholars. They all agreed that this was a 'true wonder of the world'. For many years, salt was extracted from open quarries here. In 1902, underground mining began, and shafts were dug into the mountain up to 1308m deep, where deposits of potassium and magnesium were found.

In 1990, the development of these deposits was stopped, and the mountain, pierced by underground caves and galleries where salt crystals are transformed into amazing stalactites and stalagmites, became an unusual tourist attraction 'Salt World' (Món Sal). Here you can see collections of ancient equipment and salt sculptures, as well as find yourself in amazing caves with lagoons, where stalactites and stalagmites of transparent-white, yellow, and red colors create a magical space of fantastic dreams.