Tordera: From the River to History
About this tour
A complete walk through Tordera, the largest town in the Maresme, from the train station to the cultural heart of the village. This approximately hour-and-a-half route will take you to discover the secrets of a millenary town: the iconic Pont de Ferro bridge rebuilt three times after floods, the 11th-century Romanesque bell tower, the route of the ancient Roman Via Augusta, and the vibrant Teatre Clavé. Tordera is famous for its Sunday market with over 150 years of tradition, one of the largest in Catalonia with 300 stalls, and for its ganxet beans with Protected Designation of Origin. A journey through two thousand years of history in the heart of the Maresme.
Tour stops (8)
Tordera Station - The Gateway to the Maresme
Welcome to Tordera. Look around you. … We're starting our tour right here at the railway station. This place has been the historic gateway for travellers and merchants since the nineteenth century. Now, imagine this. The train arrived in Tordera, and everything changed. The Barcelona-Maçanet line opened in eighteen fifty-nine, and suddenly this corner of the Maresme was connected to the outside world. … Local products could reach Barcelona's markets in just a few hours. And you know what? Barcelona's summer visitors discovered the peace and quiet of this town, nestled between the sea and the mountains. Today, the station is still the nerve centre of everything. The Rodalies trains bring people from Barcelona in just over an hour. And every Sunday, visitors pour in for the famous market. … It's still doing what it's done for nearly two centuries. So here's what we're going to do. We'll head south from here, walking gently down towards the Tordera river and the historic town centre. Look to your right. See that? That's the green expanse of the Parc Prudenci Bertrana. That's our next stop. But first, let me tell you something about the name itself. … Tordera. Where does it come from? The river, actually. The name comes from the Latin 'torrentera' — referring to those torrential streams that pour down from the Montnegre mountains. It's a name that tells a story. And as we walk, you'll understand why that matters.
Prudenci Bertrana Park - The Green Lung
Here we are, stepping into the Parc Prudenci Bertrana. … A green oasis, you see, sitting right on a river island. And here's the thing — this island was created by the river itself during a massive flood back in nineteen hundred and seven. Now, the park takes its name from Prudenci Bertrana i Comte. … One of the most important writers in twentieth-century Catalan literature. He was born right here in Tordera on the nineteenth of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven. Look for his bust near the entrance — you won't miss it. Bertrana was a remarkable man. Painter, journalist, art critic. But above all, a novelist. His best-known work? A novel called 'Josafat', published in nineteen hundred and six. … Now, this book caused quite a scandal at the time. Picture this: a raw, unflinching portrait of a bell-ringer, tormented by his passions. Shocking stuff for the era. And get this — his daughter Aurora? She became a prominent writer and traveller too. But the park itself has a curious story. …… In the nineteen thirties, a recreational society called 'l'Amistat' acquired this land right beside the river. They wanted to organize dances, leisure activities, bring people together. Then in nineteen fifty-one, they built a dance floor. And not long after that, the town council bought the whole plot. Today, this is where the magic happens. The Fira Mercat del Ram takes place here — a centuries-old fair held on the Palm Sunday weekend. … Thousands of visitors pour in. Artisan products, local gastronomy, and the traditional blessed palm branches. It's quite the atmosphere. Now, from here, you can see the Pont de Ferro. Let's head that way.
Pont de Ferro - The Symbol of Resilience
Look at what you have in front of you. … The Pont de Ferro. Without doubt, the most emblematic symbol of Tordera. And it tells a story about the love-hate relationship this town has maintained with its river for centuries. Now, imagine this. … The first iron bridge was inaugurated on the third of August, eighteen ninety-seven. It was an impressive structure. One hundred and eighty-three metres long, supported by ten iron pillars. And here is the thing: the residents of Tordera funded it entirely out of their own pockets. They were tired of depending on boats to cross the river. But the river Tordera is unpredictable. Just ninety-two days after its inauguration, on the third of November, eighteen ninety-seven, an enormous 'torderada'—a massive flood—swept the bridge away just like that. … Yet the torderencs did not give up. They rebuilt the bridge. They inaugurated it again in August, eighteen ninety-nine. That second bridge stood for seventy years. Seventy years. … Until another historic flood came, on the fifth of April, nineteen sixty-nine, and brought it down for good. For almost four decades after that, Tordera was left without its most beloved symbol. The bridge you see today was inaugurated in two thousand and seven. It incorporates modern safety features—the engineers learned from the past—while preserving the spirit of the original. … It even has a lift to facilitate access. Cross it if you wish. From the centre you can contemplate how the river, seemingly calm right now, continues to remind us that nature always has the last word. …… Our next destination is on the other side: the Plaça de la Concòrdia.
Plaça de la Concòrdia - The River Ironworks
We arrive at Plaça de la Concòrdia. … A space that holds the memory of the traditional trades of Tordera. Picture this: the Town Hall acquired this square back in September nineteen fifty-eight. At first, a monument to the fallen stood here. But over time, something shifted. The space transformed into a place where the community gathered. …… Now, what's truly fascinating lies in the street just ahead of us: Carrer Ferrers. And that name? No coincidence at all. … For centuries—centuries—this street housed up to ten blacksmith workshops. They harnessed the power of the river's water to drive their bellows and hammers. Imagine that for a moment. … The sound of worked metal echoing throughout the neighbourhood. The heat radiating from the forges. The bustle of farriers and craftsmen moving between the workshops. The blacksmith workshops of Tordera became famous across the entire region. They produced everything—horseshoes, iron grilles, farming implements, tools. All of it born from fire and skill. …… In this same area, you'll also find the former house of the diaconal benefice, an ecclesiastical institution linked to the parish church. And nearby, the pagesos syndicate. A testament to how important agriculture was to this town. … From here as well departs the ancient Camí Ral de Hostalric a Blanes. Get this: it followed the route of the Roman Via Augusta. For two thousand years, this was the great communication axis of the entire Mediterranean. … Now, let's make our way up to the old town. We'll head along Carrer de les Creus.
El Camí Ral - The Ancient Via Augusta
Now we descend towards the Camí Ral. … One of the liveliest streets in Tordera. And here's the thing—it's also one of the oldest roads on the entire Iberian Peninsula. Look at this street. … It follows the route of the ancient Roman Via Augusta. Picture this: a great highway that connected Cádiz all the way to Rome, hugging the entire Mediterranean coast. The Romans named it in honour of Emperor Augustus, though the road had existed long before. When the Iberians used it, they called it the Via Heraclea. Fast forward to the Middle Ages. … This same route became the Strata Francisca—a path for pilgrims and merchants crossing these lands. Then in the modern era, it came to be known as the Camí Ral. The king's road. That's what "ral" means. Now, something dramatic happened in seventeen thirty-seven. … A great flood made it impossible to travel along the old route, the one that passed through the carrers Sant Antoni and Ferrers. So the following year, a decision was made: redirect the course to where you're standing now. The Camí Ral you're walking today? Nearly three centuries old. Take a look at the buildings flanking the street. … You see some wonderful Modernist features from the early twentieth century. That was a prosperous time for Tordera, you see. The cork industry was thriving here. Small cork workshops proliferated all over, taking advantage of the cork oak forests of the Montnegre, right nearby. And here's something for your stomach: along this street you can sample the local cuisine. … Especially the celebrated ganxet beans. They hold a Protected Designation of Origin from the Maresme. Worth trying. Our final destination is very close now: the Teatre Clavé.
Església de Sant Esteve - The Millennial Heart
Look around you. Here we are at the historic heart of Tordera: the Plaça de l'Església. … This square is dominated by something truly imposing — the Església de Sant Esteve. Now, the church you see before you tells the story of more than a thousand years of history. The building you're looking at dates from the late eighteenth century. It was constructed between seventeen eighty and eighteen seventeen in Baroque and Neoclassical style. But here's the thing — it preserves something exceptional. … That bell tower? It's Romanesque, and it comes from the eleventh century. Picture this: the lower section is even older still, pre-Romanesque. The middle section is pure Romanesque — see those characteristic paired windows? And the upper section was added later in Gothic style during the sixteenth century. … It's like reading an architecture book written in stone. You can see the centuries layered right there. The first time this church appears in the written record is the year nine hundred seventy-seven — when Catalan nobles donated it to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes. Get this: when that bell tower was being built, Barcelona didn't even have its Gothic cathedral yet. … Now look at the façade in front of you. See that undulating crown? That's Baroque. And presiding over everything is a Baroque portal with a niche — and in that niche sits the image of Sant Esteve himself. Below it, you'll see the coat of arms of the town and the date eighteen oh three. This square here, where you're standing, has been the centre of social, religious and political life in Tordera for centuries. And here's something remarkable — for more than a hundred and fifty years, every single Sunday, this plaza has hosted one of the largest markets in all of Catalonia. …… Around three hundred stalls. Forty thousand visitors. Every week.
Carrer de les Creus - The Tragedy of 1773
Look around you. We're walking along Carrer de les Creus now. … The name of this street? It holds a tragic story. A story that shook this entire region. Right here, in this very spot, there once stood an old hostel. The town council owned it—the 'comú'. And it sat right alongside the Camí Ral, the ancient route that connected everything. Travellers passed through. Merchants stopped here. It was a mandatory halt for anyone journeying along the old Via Augusta. But listen to this. … On the first of January, seventeen seventy-three, the hostel collapsed. Just like that. Suddenly. …… Eleven people died in that collapse. Eleven lives lost in a single moment. It was a tragedy that left a deep, deep mark on this town. So what did they do? In memory of those victims, crosses were placed on the façade of the house across the street. And that's where this street got its name. That's the story you're standing in right now. Take a moment. Look carefully at the old façades around you. You can still see the mark of time on these buildings. Some date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They've weathered centuries. … Very close to here—just nearby—stands another piece of history. The old Hospital de Pobres de Tordera. The first hospital? It's documented from the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. It was over on Carrer Sant Ramon originally. But at the end of the sixteenth century, it moved. It relocated to a modest building next to the Capella de Sant Antoni. Now, that chapel—the Capella de Sant Antoni—that's a seventeenth-century building. And it's done double duty for centuries. Religious purposes, yes. But also civic purposes. It's been linked to local political life, woven into the community's story. … Come on. Let's head towards the Plaça de l'Església. That's the heart of Tordera. That's where we're going next.
Teatre Clavé - The Cultural Soul
Look, we've arrived at the Teatre Clavé. … This is Tordera's leading cultural facility, and really, it's become a symbol of the artistic vitality of this town. Now, the theatre you see today has an interesting story. It was inaugurated in two phases. First, partially on twenty-sixth April nineteen ninety-eight—and the poet Miquel Martí i Pol was here for that moment. Then officially on twenty-fifth April nineteen ninety-nine. But listen, the history goes back much further than that. Back in the late nineteen twenties, right here on this very spot, stood the Cinema Clavé. … It was promoted by Josep Albertí Ruscalleda. Picture this: during the nineteen thirties, this place was in its golden age. The Sindicat Cercle Agrícola managed it, and they organised cinema screenings, theatre performances, cultural activities. A real hub of the community. Then came the Civil War. The trade unions CNT and FAI took over the venue and renamed it 'Cinema Popular'. After the war, it became known as 'Educación y Descanso'. Time passed. By nineteen eighty-three, the Town Council purchased it for thirteen million pesetas. But by nineteen eighty-eight, the building was in such a dilapidated state that it had to be demolished. The new building you're standing in front of—designed following an ideas competition—stands right at the heart of the urban centre. You see it here on the Plaça de Miquel Martí i Pol. The square is dedicated to the great Catalan poet who so strongly supported this project. …… Today, the Teatre Clavé offers a regular programme of theatre, music, dance and performing arts. It also houses the Centre de Formació Artística, with schools of theatre, music, dance and fine arts. And so our walk through Tordera comes to an end. Thank you for visiting with us. Gràcies per la vostra visita. Fins aviat!
Guide
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For 15 years I have been a fan of audio tours, I love making them about places with anecdotes that are little known.
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