THE NATURAL PARK OF
MONTSENY

THE MASSIF MASSÍS

THE NATURAL PARK

THE CREATION OF THE
NATURAL PARK

THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE

TWINNING

BETWEEN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
AND CENTRAL EUROPE

THE TERRAIN

LA TORDERA

INTRODUCTORY LETTER
BY MARTÍ BOADA

Martí Boada

INTRODUCTORY LETTER BY MARTÍ BOADA

The Natural Park of Montseny was the first natural area to be protected as a natural park in the country. In a decree made by Alfons 14th in 1928 the first measures were taken to preserve the area. The reasons for the protection of the area have been its marked natural diversity and its proximity to the Metropolitan area of Barcelona. In relation to its natural qualities, the Montseny massif represents a synthesis of the main landscapes of Western Europe.

On visiting the park one gets an approximate idea of the three great biomes which form a large part of the continent. From the base of the massif to the height of 900 metres above sea level, the natural systems of the Mediterranean region are well represented. From the limits of the latter level to 1,600 metres above sea level the mountain is covered with oak and beech woods in a Central European environment, while on the highest peaks plant and animal life typical of the boreo-alpine regions can be found. An illustration of its biodiversity is the number of superior plant species; there are over one thousand five hundred, a quantity higher than that of England (one thousand two hundred).

There are also some remarkable native animals and plants which are exclusive to the massif, and others which are at the northernmost limit of their distribution. Its natural wealth, and its geography (it is the highest massif of the coastal range, with El Turó de l'Home reaching some 1,707 m), have been a strong attraction for many years, surrounded by signs of human settlement, some of them famous, like the Iberian wall at El Brull, or the Roman villa of Can Tarrés, the castles of Montsoriu and Montclús, the Romanesque monuments of Sant Salvador de Breda and Santa Magdalena, and more recent events such as the Modernism of La Garriga and of Viladrau.

Throughout time, human activity on the massif has modified the present landscape, and has formed a way of life which with present day social uses has produced the cultural area which today makes up Montseny: a mixture of culture and nature, where social history and natural history have not acted separately but have interacted continually, forming an exceptional socio-ecological heritage which deserves its status as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve.

Dr. Martí Boada
ICTA. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Global Forum of the NNUU
January 2004