In the second half of the XIX century, Catalan landscape painting acquired an importance and personality previously unknown to this genre. Among the landscape artists of the moment were Josep Armet and Josep Berga, however it was Joaquim Vayreda who became the foremost Catalan landscape painter. In his work, the landscape took centre stage.
Vayreda was the founder of the Olot School of countryside painting, a movement characterised by the taste for painting from nature and directly inspired by the works of the French artists of Barbizon School. Their canvases, which enjoyed wide exposure and considerable success, influenced numerous Catalan landscape painters.
The Museu de la Garrotxa has an extensive collection of paintings by the Olot School, and the Museu dels Sants has a collection centred on one of Olot's traditional industries: religious imagery. And it is Olot's saints' workshops that make virtually all the religious sculptures that are found around the world. The museum shows the whole process of making these pieces and allows you to see, first hand, the inside of a workshop (on week days).
Olot School
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Routes and excursions TOP
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Sadernes to Sant Julià de Ribelles route (from Sadernes)
Walking route through the central area of Alta Garrotxa through wild and delightful landscapes.
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GR 1 - Sendero Transversal
This GR crosses the whole Iberian Peninsula along the southern flanks of the Pyrenees and Cantabrian mountains. It runs from Empuries in the east to Finisterre in the west, passing through the Catalan pre-Pyrenees from the Costa Brava to Aragon.
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GR 83 - Camí del Nord o del Canigó
This route provides links Mataró and Prada de Conflent and the peak of El Canigó. It runs through attractive landscapes in El Montseny, Les Guilleries and La Garrotxa, and includes sections involving considerable climbs once it reaches the Pyrenees.
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Molí dels Murris bathing pool. Route 4 Les Planes d'Hostoles
Les Planes d’Hostoles is well known for its natural bathing pools that have been used in numerous films and adverts. This is one of four suggestions.
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Castellfollit-Begudà-Sant Joan les Fonts. Ruta 2 Garrotxa
This 20-km route is designed to be done in two stages. There are two starting points, one in the town of Castellfollit de la Roca and one in Sant Joan les Fonts.
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Romanesque hermitages of la Garrotxa
Although some structures from the 11th century do still stand, most of the surviving medieval buildings in La Garrotxa date from the 12th and 13th centuries.
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Monars route
The pond of Bassa de Monars and its lush green surroundings is a welcoming place to stop. Monars is part of Montagut i Oix and according to the 2007 census, eight people live in this hamlet. The first documentary records for Sant Sebastià date from 1064.
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Vayreda’s Alta Garrotxa. Route 8 Garrotxa
Marian Vayreda’s novel La Punyalada provides one of the best ways of discovering the Alta Garrotxa. The places depicted by this 19th century author in the scenes from his famous novel have been joined in a discovery route.
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Olot and its volcanoes
Rediscover nature in the heart of the city. The urban layout of Olot is set around one of the most famous volcanoes: Montsacopa.