Montseny

The municipality of Montseny, formerly known by the name of the owner of its parish, Sant Julià de Montseny, currently has an area of 27.02 km², is located on the southern slope of the Montseny mountain and is the only town in the massif that keeps his name.

Its relief is very rugged, as it extends from the peaks of Matagalls and Les Agudes, around 1,700 meters above sea level, to below the main center of the town, which is located around the parish church, at an elevation of 530 meters. meters.

The rugged relief and orientation make the climate and vegetation very diverse. The harsh climate of the high mountains has nothing to do with the benign climate of the plains and sunny terraces where the core of the town is located.

Among the exuberant vegetation that we can see in Montseny, an exceptional specimen stands out: " the church boxwood ", located in the patio in front of it, and which in 1990 was declared a monumental tree by the Generalitat of Catalonia.

The Montseny Massif

Montseny is a mountain range that straddles three regions: Vallès Oriental, Osona and La Selva. It is made up of three well-differentiated mountain ranges: Pla de la Calma (1,344 m); the Cerro del Hombre (1,706 m) and the Agudes (1,706 m), and, finally, the Turó de Matagalls (1,697 m). These three sets are joined together by collars.

Much of this massif corresponds to the protected area of the Montseny Natural Park.

The Montseny Natural Park was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1978, forming part of an international network of protected areas representative of the main types of global ecosystems.

The Montseny Biosphere Reserve is a mosaic of Mediterranean and Central European landscapes of extraordinary biodiversity. Among the landscapes, the mosaic of Mediterranean and Central European forests stands out, where you can find forests of cork oaks, holm oaks, beech trees, chestnut trees, pine and fir forests, giving way to typical highland grasslands.

The numerous waterways are bordered by riparian forests of poplar, willow, hazel and ash. Among the fauna, typical Mediterranean species stand out, as well as species characteristic of Central European ecosystems, such as the gray dormouse, the European green lizard and the Aesculapius snake.

Also high mountain species such as the red frog and the Montseny newt, recently described after identifying the Pyrenean newt as a different species. The entomological fauna is also very varied, with a rich diversity of butterfly species.

Places of interest

• The Montseny Massif
• The Table of the Three Bishops
• Jaume's Esquelles
• Estela Viewpoint
• Hermitage of Sant Martí de Montseny de Arriba
• Church of San Julián de Montseny
• San Marcial del Montseny
• San Bernardo Hermitage
• The inclined bell tower of the church of Sant Julià de Montseny

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