Taüll

The region around Taüll spent centuries caught between competing powers. In 806, the Count of Toulouse drove out Muslim rule and freed the area from tribute. The Boí Valley then passed to the County of Pallars, with its churches falling under the diocese of Urgell. A short-lived bishopric established at Roda in 911 brought further complications, as it claimed authority over the counties of Ribagorça and Pallars — a move that set off prolonged disputes with Urgell. By 949 the counties had split, Ribagorça going to the new Bishopric of Roda and Pallars returning to Urgell. Feudal and ecclesiastical conflicts rumbled on for generations until agreements between counts and bishops eventually brought some stability. Alfonso I was the first king to deliver a period of real peace.

The lords of Erill gained jurisdiction over the valley's villages, and military campaigns brought them considerable wealth. They used it well: the old rustic churches across the valley were torn down and replaced with richly decorated Romanesque buildings with fine liturgical furnishings. In Taüll this work produced the churches of Sant Climent, Santa Maria, Sant Martí, and the hermitage of Sant Quirc. Taüll remained under the Erill barons — later counts — until the abolition of the seigneurial system in 1831.

The geographer Pascual Madoz described the village in 1848. He recorded 24 houses, including the town hall, two parish churches served by a rector and a vicar, and a cemetery within the village boundary. The terrain he called mountainous, rough, and mostly poor, though some clay soils existed alongside dry meadows and small vegetable gardens irrigated from the Sant Martí stream. Residents grew rye, barley, and potatoes and kept sheep, cows, and mares. There were also two lead mines and an unworked iron deposit, plus a flour mill. Hunting was plentiful — hares, partridge, quail, and some bears, wild boar, and chamois. The total population stood at 13 householders and 70 inhabitants.

Taüll has four Romanesque religious buildings: the churches of Sant Climent, Santa Maria, and Sant Quirc, and the partial remains of Sant Martí, which was largely destroyed by an avalanche in the 1970s. Outside the village, the remains of a pastoral habitat at Les Coves are also of interest. The valley landscape can be taken in from several vantage points, including the Pla de l'Ermita and the Boí-Taüll ski station above the village.

From Lleida, take the N-230 north through El Pont de Suert. At the far end of El Pont de Suert, turn right onto the L-500, the main road through the Boí Valley. Continue past Barruera to a second fork, then turn right onto the L-501, which runs through Boí and Taüll before ending at the Boí-Taüll ski station.

Bus services connect El Pont de Suert with Taüll and the ski centre, stopping at several villages along the route.