Monastery of Sant Quirze de Colera

The promoters of the initiative would have taken the lead in founding a monastery on this site with an authorisation granted by Charlemagne. Before the year 815, they obtained a royal decree which already mentioned the monastery and made it the beneficiary of various goods. Despite the unreliability of this information, important architectural elements and tombs from that period have been discovered that prove, at least, its antiquity. That precept of Charlemagne would have been the starting point for a series of donations and foundations of parishes under the direction of the monastery of Sant Quirze. Later, the monastery, which was a private foundation owned by the family of the founders, received from them the ownership of the property. After an attempt of interference by Count Alaric of Empúries, the abbot of Sant Quirze asked Louis the Pious in 844 to recognise the foundation and the rights acquired.

In 1285 and again in 1288, it suffered the effects of the passage of French troops because of the conflicts between the armies of Philip III the Bold and the Crown of Aragon. In the 15th century, signs of decadence and the existence of commendatory abbots began to appear. There is evidence that in 1441 the cloister was in danger of ruin. In 1592, the monastery was suppressed, and the community was extinguished and integrated with that of Sant Pere de Besalú. With the suppression of 1835, the assets of the latter monastery were auctioned off and Sant Quirze de Colera passed into the hands of the military and politician Ramon de Nouvilas. The buildings were used for agricultural purposes and were sometimes abandoned. In 1931 it was declared a National Monument and in recent times excavation, consolidation and restoration work has been carried out.