The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is the reason to come here. Founded in 879 by Wilfred the Hairy, the legendary first Count of Barcelona who unified Catalonia, it grew into the most important monastery in medieval Catalonia and the burial place of the counts of Barcelona. The current building dates largely from an 1886 reconstruction by architect Elias Rogent after the original was devastated in the Carlist Wars of 1835, but it faithfully reproduces the great Romanesque structure.
The portal is the centrepiece: a 12th-century carved stone triumphal arch of extraordinary ambition, covering seven horizontal bands with scenes from the Old Testament, apostles, months of the year, and apocalyptic imagery. It is one of the finest surviving examples of Romanesque sculpture anywhere in Europe. The interior is grand and sober. The cloister, with its paired columns and individually carved capitals, dates partly to the 12th century and is included in the admission. Allow two hours at least; the detail repays close attention.