Once we finished the visit to the Consorci de Promoció Turística de l’Alta Anoia we went on foot towards the Torre de la Manresana where Rosa M. Sala waited for us to give us a guided tour.
Through the different signs that can be found at the tower’s levelled area she told us the Prats de Rei’s situation during the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1715). This Catalan municipality was the battleground for the Marshal Guido Von Starhemberg’s Austracist and the Duke of Vendôme’s Bourbonic troops, as this was a key territory to get hold of the high plateau of the region of Calaf. The tower became a strategic observatory for the allied command. Along with the speech, we watched a really interesting audiovisual presentation which made the visit even more understandable.
After that, we went up a 21 meter height Romanesque tower. Thus, we could watch the magnificent views of the whole municipality and we could see the environment of the old battlefield. The Museum of the History of Catalonia has provided the tower with a good access and the visit is very profitable. In order to complete the visit we went to a close church called Església de Sant Andreu and to a wine press dug out of the rock.
We are very grateful to Mrs Rosa M. Sala for her attention and her history report which was very useful for us to get concepts straight.
Translated by Silvia Vives and Lissette Torres