About an hour's drive from Barcelona on the Autovia (highway), direction northwest, you will arrive at two beautiful towns called Cardona and Solsonna. Cardona is famous for the huge castle built on a hill (now a Parador hotel), while Solsona is a charming old town with an imposing cathedral. Exacty half way from Cardona to Solsonna was a sign I have never noticed before: Torre de Riner, or, in English, the Tower of Riner.
Riner is a very, very, very small village. Following the sign, I turned left and was led to 4km of winding road at the edge of the mountain. I could only spot a few houses, all very far apart, and at the end of the road stands a tower fortress that was built 1000 years ago in the 10th (or 11th) century and is now in complete ruin. Little is left except the half fallen stone walls; wild grass grows where princes and armies once marched.
This is mostly a hiking ground now, and apparently no restoration work is being carried out. Unlike other fortresses and churches in tourist centers where restorations have been done throughout the centuries, this tower is in one of the most depressing conditions I have ever seen. I had to climb up and down the stone walls to survey the whole building. Obviously there is no entrance fee.
There is a pretty intriguing story to the castle and the tower, which can be translated from the Catalan wiki here: http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell_de_Riner
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