Cardona is a town in Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the city of Barcelona, on a hill almost surrounded by the river Cardener, a branch of the Llobregat. To the east of the town, the river has been diverted through a tunnel has been dug through a spur, leaving a loop of dry river bed near the saltmine.
Near the town is an extensive deposit of rock salt. The salt forms a mountain mass (called Muntanya de Sal) covered by a thick bed of a reddish-brown clay, and apparently resting on a yellowish-grey sandstone. It is generally more or less translucent, and large masses of it are quite transparent. The hill has been worked like a mine since Roman times pieces cut from it have been carved by artists in Cardona into images, crucifixes and many articles of an ornamental kind.
Access : Coordinates: 41.913611, 1.680556 / By car : From Barcelona : Motorway C-58 (Terrassa-Manresa). NII to Manresa (exit 132). C-55 to Cardona.
By bus : To reach Cardona there is also a regular bus service that covers the Barcelona-Andorra route. The company ALSA runs four buses a day to Cardona. Cardona does not have a station but the neighbouring city of Manresa, 30 km from Cardona, has both RENFE and FGC railway services that connect to Catalonia’s main cities, and buses that connect to Cardona. From the main airport in Catalonia, Barcelona El Prat, Cardona can be reached on the A-2 and the C-55 towards Manresa. Barcelona El Prat airport is 100 km from Cardona. During the year there is a half-day trip from Barcelona upon which it is possible to visit the two main tourism resources of Cardona: the Salt Mountain and the Castle.
Local festivals : Caramelles: The Sunday of Passover / Mercat de la ganga: The first Sunday of February / Fira de Pentecostes: The first Sunday of June / Fira de la Llenega: The last Sunday of October / Festa Major: The second last weekend in September
Aplec de Cardona: 18 September
Highlights :
- The Castle of Cardona, which is set high on a hill and contains a Parador hotel.The Historic Centre , The 14th-century Romanesque Church of St. Vincenc.
- The Church of Sant Miquel, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 14th century in Gothic style. It houses a precious polyptych by Pere Vall, depicting St. Anne, the Virgin and St. Amador, and a 15th-century baptismal font.
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