The town of La Bisbal d’Empordà, or simply La Bisbal, as it’s commonly shortened to, is the regional capital of our lovely comarca of El Baix Empordà, but, being located “in the interior”, it is often overlooked by visitors who flock instead to the coastal towns of the county.
The seaside villages of Palafrugell – Calella, Tamariu, Llafranc – which are all less than a 20km drive away, colonial Begur with all its gorgeous coves, and medieval villages like Ullastret, Peratallada & Palau-sator, Púbol, or Pals, which are an even shorter drive away, attract the bulk of visitors. Except, of course, those on the lookout for some of the traditional old-school red-clay ceramics for which La Bisbal is renowned!
We’ll come back to the ceramics a little later, but first, it’s worth having a quick look at some of the history attached to La Bisbal over the years and centuries.
Origins
Back in Roman times, several villas were built in this region that, over time, became population centres; the one located where La Bisbal stands today being known as Fontanetum in Latin, and later as Fontanet in Old Catalan. After the Romans, this region was ruled for centuries by the Visigoths until it came under Moorish Muslim control for a few decades in the 8th century. Frankish forces under Charlemagne recaptured the County of Girona from the Moors in 785 and incorporated it into the Carolingian Empire, restoring Christian rule.
The settlement at what is today La Bisbal came under the ownership of the Bishop of Girona from 881 at the latest, possibly earlier, and the church of Santa Maria de la Bisbal was consecrated in the year 901. Fontanet officially became a parish in 904 and began to be called by its new name of La Bisbal, from the Catalan word for bishop: “Bisbe”. A Romanesque-style episcopal palace-castle was constructed in the 11th Century. The church of Sta. Maria with its bell tower that stands today is from the 17th century.
Medieval times
La Bisbal was a typical medieval town in its day, with protecting walls, a moat, and several towers. The walls had four gates with four roads leading out of the town to nearby Girona, Calonge, Palamós and Torroella de Montgrí. There was also a Jewish quarter but, after their neighbourhood was sacked in 1285 and again in 1391, just about all the Jews had abandoned the town by the mid-1400s.
King Jaume II granted La Bisbal the right to hold a weekly market in 1332 – a very big deal back then – and that weekly market continues to this day. In addition, on Mayday every year, La Bisbal holds the Fira Mercat al Carrer de l’1 de Maig, a street market in which the city’s merchants and traders from around Catalunya take part. This street market on 1 May was revived in 1991, but it originally started in 1448 thanks to a privilege granted by Queen Maria, wife of Alfonso IV the Magnanimous.
The town prospered and grew in the 16th and 17th centuries until it became the largest town in the region. In the 18th century, it continued to expand, and the city wall began to be demolished to make way for new dwellings. The population growth at the end of the century was partly due to significant immigration from France after the French Revolution of 1789.
Guerrilla warfare
La Bisbal saw some action during the Peninsular War (1808-14), which was part of the larger Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). The Peninsular War refers to the conflict between the forces of Spain and Portugal against the invading French army of Napoleon. Initially, Spain had been an ally of France and had allowed the French to cross its territory to invade and occupy Portugal in 1807. However, when the French then occupied Spain as well “on their way back” in 1808, the Spanish rose against them and fought a bloody war for their independence that lasted until 1814.
The Peninsular War is regarded as one of the first wars of national liberation, and it also gave us the term “guerrilla” warfare – guerrilla being the diminutive form of the Spanish word for war: Guerra. Although the strategies employed were not new in themselves, the tactics of the Spanish and Portuguese who successfully defeated Napoleon’s far superior army gave rise to the term “guerrilla”, which is still used in many languages to this day.
The Battle of La Bisbal
In late 1810 the French decided to lay siege to the town of Tortosa, just south of Tarragona in southern Catalunya, in order to sever connections between the provinces of Catalunya and Valencia. A Marshall Étienne McDonald was ordered to march 16,000 French troops south from close to Tarragona to support the planned siege.
Meanwhile, on the Spanish side, General Enrique José O’Donnell, stationed in Tarragona, decided to leave part of his garrison there under Pedro Sarsfield (among others) and march with about 6,500 soldiers to attack French positions in northern Catalunya in an attempt to draw McDonald away from Tortosa. He managed to skirt the French garrisons in Barcelona and Girona and arrive undetected close to La Bisbal, on the road linking Girona and the port of Palamós.
At about this time Spanish and British frigates under Colonel C.W. Doyle and Capt F.W. Fane with about 500 men sailed up the coast and landed near Begur, capturing a French post there. (At this time the British had allied themselves with their traditional Spanish enemies against Napoleon’s France.) In response to this attack, the French commander in the area, F.X. de Schwartz, unaware of O’Donnell’s larger force approaching, set up defenses in La Bisbal with 800 of his 1,700 soldiers, sending the rest out in detachments to defend the towns of Begur, Calonge, Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
When O’Donnell’s attack came Schwartz was caught by surprise and he fell back to the castle inside La Bisbal, only to discover that Spanish snipers were able to pick off his men from the church tower and a nearby hill. He held out till evening, by which time he had lost about 400 of his men, and surrendered just before the Spanish were about to attack en masse. Doyle and Fane had since landed at Palamós, captured it, and then defeated the detachments sent to Calonge and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.
And so ended the Battle of La Bisbal, 1810!
Who’s who?
In case you are wondering about the names of the protagonists, O’Donnell and Sarsfield on the Spanish side were descendants of Irish soldiers who had left Ireland, after their defeat by King William of Orange and his forces at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, to join the armies of the Catholic kingdoms of Europe in order to fight against the Protestant British once again. Most of these Irish soldiers joined the armies of France and Spain, both Catholic countries and both traditional enemies of England. They were known as The Wild Geese.
McDonald on the French side was the son of a Catholic Scot whose father joined the Irish Legion in the French army after having supported “Bonnie” Prince Charlie’s failed rebellion by Scots against the English in 1745, while Doyle was an Irishman fighting in the British army. Although the “Wild Geese” left Ireland to fight the British, the shifting alliances and allegiances in continental Europe meant they could never be sure who they’d end up fighting against; even each other, as happened in this case.
And for the record, Schwartz and his men were from the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of small German states that were allied to Napoleon.
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo, which effectively ended the Napoleonic Wars, obviously didn’t take place in La Bisbal because it happened in, well, Waterloo. But the biggest scale model of that battle is in La Bisbal, or just outside it, in the Hotel Castell d’Empordà, whose Dutch owner just happens to be the great-great-grandson of a veteran of Napoleon’s Grand Armée. The hotel is worth a visit in its own right as one of the many beautiful Castles of the Empordà region.
Ceramics
The great Battle of La Bisbal took place a long time ago, and today the town is far more peaceful and known more for its handmade artisanal ceramics than for its strategic location. The earliest record of pottery as a trade in La Bisbal is from 1511, so they’ve been at it a while now!
Pottery production grew significantly in the latter half of the 1700s, along with the surge in the population of the town, and expanded again in the 19th century, leading to the establishment of the Unió Obrera de Ceramistes (Ceramists Workers Union) in 1899. Today La Bisbal is one of the leading ceramics centres in all of Catalunya and it has had its own trademark since 2010:
“Ceràmica de la Bisbal” is an EU-protected brand name designed to individualize, personalize and provide recognition for ceramic products manufactured in La Bisbal and its surrounding area. The brand name, a guarantee of authenticity, is engraved or stamped by local producers on all types of ceramic products (artistic/decorative, earthenware, tiles, bricks, flooring and pavements). A Regulatory Council made up of municipal and entrepreneurial representatives supervises the correct use of the brand name and promotes the quality of the products thus protected.
Also included in the sphere of the La Bisbal trademark are ceramics produced in Corçà, Forallac, Cruïlles-Monells-Sant Sadurní de l’Heura, La Pera, Rupià, Foixà, Ultramort, Serra de Daró, Gualta, Fontanilles, Ullastret, Parlavà, Palau-Sator, Pals and Torrent. Any pottery bearing this trademark is of guaranteed quality and origin. Typical La Bisbal ceramics are recognizable by their predominant red, yellow, blue and green colours and their glazed finish.
La Bisbal itself is the undisputed ceramic “capital” of the region though, as it is also home to other related industries that supply the raw materials, equipment and machinery necessary for ceramic production, and they, in turn, depend on it. Its diversity also sets it apart from other ceramic-producing centres in that it also produces ceramics for the construction industry as well as decorative pieces.
If you’re on the hunt for some authentic La Bisbal pieces, the main concentration of ceramic shops is on Carrer Aigüeta, which is the main street running through the town north of the River Daró, but there are some shops south of the river too, where you’ll also find the Terracotta Ceramics Museum. Many shops displaying pottery outside on the street have their own workshop inside.
If you happen to be in town around Easter time, you might just stumble upon the Fira Mercat d’Artesian I Ceràmics de La Bisbal d’Empordà – a long-winded way of saying the “Craft Ceramics Fair of La Bisbal”, basically! All the best craft pottery from the area goes on display for two days in a family-friendly market atmosphere. It’s worth a gander!
La Bisbal ceramics was even featured in an article by National Geographic magazine not too long ago called “Made in Costa Brava, Spain”!
World Craft City
In early 2022, La Bisbal d’Empordà was officially declared the 53rd “World Craft City”, the 5th in Europe (apparently the first one on the actual continent though as the other 4 are all on islands!). As the mayor of the town stated, ceramics are “the flagship of La Bisbal” and “more and more artisans are coming to the village’. With its new official title of Craft City, the hope is that even more will follow and settle in what he called the “perfect ecosystem” for creative and crafty people.
What to see
The aforementioned palace-castle that saw action in the Battle of La Bisbal is worth a visit. It was also used as a prison during and for a time after the Spanish Civil War – following which La Bisbal’s status as the capital of El Baix Empordà was temporarily suspended under the dictatorship. With the return of autonomy, Palafrugell, with over twice the population, made its case for becoming the new capital, but La Bisbal was reinstated to its former position. Check the castle-palace opening times before visiting.
The Pont Vell (Old Bridge) is still the main bridge over the River Daró. The Daró is an unpredictable river that is actually dry most of the year but is prone to sometimes violent torrents after periods of heavy rain. (Not on the day we visited, obviously!)
Circus Fair
Every July, the circus comes to town! The 2024 edition is the 28th and brings 29 companies to La Bisbal, putting on over 40 street shows. Around half the performers are Catalan, and the other half are from all around the world. Many of the shows are free to the public, while some will require the purchase of a ticket. So if you enjoy a bit of clowning, acrobatics, juggling, aerials, cyr wheel, tight-rope walking, diabolo, trapezoid, chair or cyr wheel acrobatics, check out the programme for the 29th Fira de Circ al Carrer, La Bisbal d’Empordà, and make your way to our local capital town on the weekend of 19-21 July!
Fira de Brocanters
Every year on 11 September, La Diada, the Fira de Brocanters (collectors fair) is happening in La Bisbal d’Empordà. There will be a gathering of Classic Cars on Passeig Marimon Asprer. There’s also a guided historical tour of the town, but you’ll need to understand Catalan (time to sign up for those classes!). If your Catalan isn’t up to scratch, you can always just NjOY! Jornada del Vermut instead! Did you know that sifones are one of the most characteristic and iconic products of the Brocanters Fairs of La Bisbal? They will be on the tables of participating bars and restaurants, so at aperitif time, you can enjoy a vermouth with siphon served with a tapa. A great day out!
Anyone for tennis?
La Bisbal Tennis Club has been hosting a tennis competition since 2017, and as of 2023, that tournament is now a WTA 125 category event, meaning there is $115,000 in prize money on offer. That makes it the joint most important in Catalunya, along with Lleida. The tournament takes place in early April, so check it out if you happen to be in the neighbourhood around then.
So, in conclusion, even if La Bisbal doesn’t have quite the same charm as some of the smaller medieval villages in the area, it does have a lot going on, and it’s definitely worth taking a stroll around the narrow streets of this historic old town.
