Can Bonada

Can Bonada is in the village of Serrat, which is in the district of Queralbs, 1,300 metres above sea level. It is a village of sixty houses, although very few of these are occupied all year.

Can Bonada is one of the most important house in the village and one of the oldest in the Ribes valley. It is a house full of character, which can be traced back to the fifteenth century when it was built where there was an old defence tower, which has since disappeared.

The oldest document mentioning the house dates from 1519. Madona Joana Bonada, wife of Joan Bonada, was given the house by Bartomeu d'Artanyà in that year. In the middle of the French occupation, the Duke of Nouailles ordered the demolition of the castles and fortresses in the Ribes valley and Can Bonada was for this reason one of the buildings demolished.

The house was rebuilt, and after 1901 changed owners frequently, gradually losing its connection with the Bonada family. The architecture. of the building changed with each change of ownership, with many additions and enlargements being made. It was seriously damaged during the Spanish Civil War.

As no new buildings have been allowed to spoil the rural surroundings of this part of the Pyrenees, Serrat has retained all the charm of a village high in the mountains. The present road leading to the village was not built until the 1940s, until which time all goods had to transported by animals. All houses made their own bread and the ovens which were used can still be seen attached to the houses. Can Bonada also has a flour mill which was in use until that time.

Serrat, 5kms from Queralbs and the Nuria Valley train station, is in a particularly special setting. The fact that there are no new housing developments or other buildings to spoil the scenery, the tranquility of the village and its situation in beautiful countryside make Can Bonada an ideal place for high quality rural tourism. It is perfectly integrated in the village, the surroundings and natural environment of the area.

The charm of Serrat is the silence, being in a place virtually unspoilt, but at the same time modernised, with paved streets, drainage, street lighting and running water. Can Bonada is a classic example of the rural architecture of the Pyrenees.