What you can see on the Ripoll webcam
The view is over the rooftops of the old centre. On the left rise the walls and the battlemented bell tower of the monastery of Santa Maria, with the Catalan flag flying on top. Beyond it, a steep wooded hill climbs above the town, with old farming terraces on its slopes, and the houses of Ripoll spread along the valley. It is a still image, not a video: the reload button brings the latest one it has sent.
The bell tower of Santa Maria de Ripoll
Catalonia's public broadcaster has a weather camera on a building in the centre of Ripoll, facing the monastery. On the left are the stone walls of the old buildings, the nave of the basilica with its tiled roof and the square, battlemented bell tower flying the Catalan flag; in the centre, a small square with trees; on the right, the town's newer buildings climb towards a steep hill with terraces cut into it.
It is a still image, not a video. The flag shows which way the wind is blowing, the hill shows how low the cloud is, and in autumn the trees in the square mark the season.
The monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll
The monastery was founded in the late 9th century by Count Wilfred the Hairy, who used it to resettle the land after taking it, and it grew into the main religious and cultural centre of medieval Catalonia, with one of the largest libraries of its time. The counts of Barcelona were buried here, Wilfred among them, and for this reason Ripoll is often called the cradle of Catalonia. After fires and abandonment in the 19th century, the church was rebuilt by the architect Elies Rogent and consecrated again in 1896. The great carved portal, covered with biblical scenes, and the two-storey cloister survived from the old abbey and are what most visitors come to see.
When to watch Ripoll
Ripoll is one hour ahead of the UK and Ireland. Mornings and late afternoons give the warmest light on the stone of the tower, and on autumn days a low mist can fill the valley first thing. In winter the camera shows whether snow has reached the town or stayed on the hills, which tells you what to expect higher up the valleys.
Around Ripoll
Ripoll is the starting point for the valleys of the Ripollès. Up the Freser, the railway continues to Ribes de Freser, where the rack railway climbs to the Vall de Núria. Up the Ter, a road leads to Sant Joan de les Abadesses, with another Romanesque monastery, and on to Camprodon and its medieval bridge.
Visiting Ripoll
The nearest airport is Girona, about 55 miles (88 km) away, just over an hour by car. Barcelona is about 75 miles (121 km). Regional trains run from Barcelona to Ripoll on the line to Puigcerdà, and the monastery is a few minutes' walk from the station.
