We left Barcelona for a few days exploring the Costa Brava region. Today we spent in Girona, a lovely city about 100km north of Barcelona. It’s a beautiful city, with medieval walls, winding city streets, stunning cathedrals and colourful houses facing the Onyar River. Worth a visit in its own right, but for Game of Thrones fans/nerds it’s especially interesting as a lot of the scenes of Bravos & Kings Landing were filmed there. We found a handy self-guided tour online. We spent a full day there exploring the film locations, trying not to look too nerdy in the process.

There’s a lot of street are in the newer part of town. This one is based on a local legend about a nun who was locked in a dungeon and turned into a crocodile, but then sprouted butterfly wings. Apparently.

Girona is on the river Onyar, which we crossed on this bridge which was designed by Gustav Eiffel (yes, that Eiffel – built just before the Eiffel Tower in Paris.) The yellow ribbons are everywhere and are the symbol of the fight for Catalan independence. There’s a lovely view of the cathedral of Girona, and the colourful houses on the old town from the bridge. The “Cases de l’Onyar” overhang the river, and date back to the 19th century, mostly. They were restored in 1982, repainted in the original colours.

Sant Pere de Galligants

The Benedictine Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants is one of the finest examples of Catalan Romanesque. Built in the 12th century, the nave and the cloister features large columns decorated with motifs of animal, plants and mythical creatures. I would love to know more about the images and stories depicted on these capitals. Two of them are attributed to The Master of Cabestany, whose work we also saw in Barcelona. The church houses the Girona branch of MNAC (Archaeological Museum of Catalonia), though we didn’t have time to do that justice. Sant Pere de Galligants features in Game of Thrones as the Citadel in Old Town, where Samwell Tarley arrives to study to become a Maester.

Girona Cathedral

The symbol of the city, the Cathedral of Girona is an imposing building, located on the highest point in the town. It has the widest nave of any Gothic church in the world, and the second widest of any church (after St Peter’s in Vatican City). The first stone of the façade of the Cathedral was placed in 1606, but it was not finished until well into the 20th century, and architectural features include  Romanesque foundations, Gothic structure and a Baroque façade. Girona Cathedral is the site of the Great Sept of Baelor for GoT devotees).

The baroque façade

Romanesque Arches

This the tomb of Ramon Berenguer II (1053 – 1082), called the Towhead because of the extremely thick hair he had on top of his head. He was co-ruler of Barcelona with his twin brother, Berenguer Ramon II, but was killed while hunting in the woods in 1082. His brother, who went on to become the sole ruler of Catalonia, was credited by popular opinion of having orchestrated this murder. His tomb is strangely positioned above and through the doorway to one of the chapels.

The nave is 23 metres wide.

There ar emany chapels containing art works, tombs and statuary.

One of the many ceiling bosses in the cathedral. They are so high you can’t see it without a zoom lens or binoculars!

The Tapestry of the Creation

Attached to the Girona Cathedral is a small museum. We went in, with fairly low expectations, but were completely bowled over by the magnificent Tapestry of the Creation. It is huge (3.65×4.7m) and very old – it dates from the 11th century, like the Bayeux Tapestry, which is so much more famous. It is not really a tapestry, but actually an embroidery. Originally it measured 4.8 x 4.8m, and is believed to have been used as a carpet, though no-one knows for sure. It is qwite spectacular!

Truth is stranger than fiction

Whilst other towns have dragons, eagles and lions appearing in their legends, the people of Girona glorify the fly (‘mosque’ in Catalan). In 1285 the neighbouring French had broken into Girona and were pursuing the defenders, sacking churches and anything they could find along the narrow streets of this beautiful old town. And then, they made a terrible mistake, they entered the church of Sant Feliu and tore open the tomb of Sant Narcís. Suddenly, a swarm of stinging flies emanated from the tomb, flew over the city walls and attacked every single French soldier. The panic overcame the enemy who fled in disarray, bringing peace back to the people of Girona. Since then, Girona has kept Sant Narcís and his flies as an emblem of the town. Another legend tells of the persecution of Diocletian. When they came for Sant Narcis, he fled through a window of this house, but left a footprint facing the other way. His pursuers searched for him inside the house, giving him time to escape. That footprint miraculously remained on that windowsill for many years, but Narcís was eventually martyred, along with Sant Feliu in the year 307.

Snapshots of Girona

We went to Girona mainly to see the Game of Thrones filming locations. but fell in love with this delightful old town, with its narrow alleyways, lovely old buildings, atmospheric street lamps & fountains and charming shops. I wish we had more time there. I can understand why the GOT location scouts thought this would be a perfect place for filming.

Cul de la Lleona

Situated on the Plaça Sant Feliu stands an old Roman column, dating back to the 11th century, with a stone lioness climbing halfway up. Legend has it that those who fall in love with the city should kiss the lioness’ bottom and will one day return. There’s even a little set of steps so you can reach, but even though I’d love to go back, we did not kiss the “Cul de la Lleona”.