Issue date: 07 Sep, 2005
The Catalonian town of Pont de Suert belongs to the mountainous Alta Ribagorça region with its rough, rugged slopes and wonderful landscapes, its high peaks, glaciers and narrow valleys. Part of this region is occupied by the National Park of Aigüestortes and Sant Maurici, the only natural area in Catalonia that holds this title. The National Park is a splendid example of the action of glaciers in the quaternary period on granite and slate. It is the region with the highest number of lakes in the Pyrenees. There are plenty of small lakes with still waters known as “aigüestortes” that give this natural area a special charm.
From the Aran Valley, leaving the Vielha tunnel we come into the Alta Ribagorça, whose most outstanding town is Pont de Suert, a walled town with the Mercadal square, where the weekly market takes place; the central square and street; the Abacial palace, a Gothic style building of the 15th century, residence of the abbot of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Lavaix; and the old church of the Asuncion, today converted into a Museum, that holds the sacred art of the Ribagorça. The stamp in this issue depicts the new church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion, with its portico and tower. It was built in 1955 following the instructions and project of engineer Eduardo Torroja Miret and of architect José Rodriguez Mijares. Its nave has the shape of an inverted boat whilst the belfry resembles a lighthouse. The architectural set is of a futuristic and avant-garde style. Pont de Suert, besides its beautiful landscapes and geological surroundings, offers the traveller many routes and monuments and ancestral celebrations such as the Sant Sebastiá and Falles de Sant Joan. It is worth mentioning that the town has a reproduction and recovery centre for otters which is open to the public.
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