La Baronia de Rialb

La Baronia de Rialb is a municipality in the comarca (county) of the Noguera in Catalonia, Spain. The territory is crossed by the river Rialb and the river Segre. The capital city is Gualter; before it had been La Torre de Rialb.

The municipality is formed by the union of old and tiny hamlets and parishes, which in total accounts for twenty-three Romanesque churches, which is the largest number of such churches in Catalonia.



Economy
The agricultural sector is still what draws the most numbers of jobs in La Baronia. A country with blueprints irrigated, highly arable lands, with a level of approximately 400 m to over 800 m altitude of usable land is suitable for a wide variety of crops. However, since a few years ago, the tourism sector is becoming the economic boost that the valley needed. In fact, there are currently available a two dozen agritourist establishments.

Nature and sport

 * Rialb reservoir – the biggest dam in Catalonia.
 * Forat de Bulí – a unique ravine in the river Rialb. It is suitable for extreme sports like canyoning.
 * Alzinera de Cal Penjat – a hundred-year-old oak in El Puig de Rialb.
 * GR 1 – a long-distance footpath that crosses the north of La Baronia.
 * Pallerols-Andorra Way – a route suitable for hiking that starts in La Baronia and finishes in Andorra.

Architecture

 * Santa Maria de Gualter – a former Benedictine monastery in Gualter.
 * Santa Maria de Palau de Rialb – a Romanesque church built between the 11th and 13th centuries.
 * Dolmen of Sols de Riu – a megalithic tomb located near the Rialb reservoir, in La Torre de Rialb.