Monastery of Sant Pere de Besalú

The monastic church was consecrated in 1003 by Bernard I, called Taillefer, also Count of Besalú, who made efforts to increase the monastery's patrimony with new donations. Complications and differences between the county of Besalú and the abbey arose with Bernat's successor, Guillem I el Gras, who was even excommunicated for appropriating the monastery's assets. Seeking to reform it, Count Bernat II joined it in 1070 to Saint-Victor de Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), a union that did not last long, as in 1086 it no longer depended on that Provençal abbey.

In 1424, the priory of Sant Joan les Fonts (Garrotxa) was joined to it. This period of prosperity lasted until the 15th century and diminished considerably with the arrival of the commendatory abbots in the 16th century. As part of the monastic reorganisation of the territory, in 1592 the monasteries of Sant Llorenç del Mont and Sant Quirze de Colera (Alt Empodà) were joined to it, at the same time as it was integrated into the Congregació Claustral Tarraconense. It suffered the negative effects of the Reapers' War and in the mid-16th century the place was in a pitiful condition and even for a short period of time the novitiate of the Benedictine order was moved here. Later, it experienced an economic resurgence that allowed it to undertake works to improve the monastic buildings.

The Romanesque church remains, with three naves and a semicircular apse that covers them all, including an ambulatory. It has a transept with small open apses in the thickness of the walls, which are not visible from the outside. The ambulatory is separated from the presbytery by double columns with well-made capitals, but which have suffered the effects of the fire of 1936. The main façade, to the west, is simple, with only a large window flanked by two figures of lions: below, the entrance door with a column on each side and a single archivolt.