Calldetenes

The official name is relatively recent, Calldetenes since 1965, yet the settlement itself is far older. It lies in the Plana de Vic at about 489 metres above sea level, on flat land that for centuries has been devoted mainly to agriculture. The municipality covers barely six square kilometres, but its setting says a great deal about the character of the comarca of Osona: open fields, scattered masías, and small villages closely tied to Vic, which is only a few minutes away.

This is a landscape that feels broad and practical. The horizon is low, the soil worked, and the rhythm of life has long been linked to the surrounding farms and to the nearby county capital.

The Stream That Turned the Mills

Much of Calldetenes’ local history revolves around water. The torrent of Sant Martí descends from the puig de la Gleva and, before joining the Meder, powered several flour mills documented at least since the Middle Ages. Today there are scattered remains along its course: sections of wall, channels, the occasional rusted wheel. Taken together, they help reconstruct how this small hydraulic system once operated in service of the masías across the plain.

A signposted route follows the stream for around eight kilometres, usually starting near the plaça de l’Onze de Setembre. It is less a scenic ramble and more a way of understanding how grain milling was organised in this part of inland Catalonia. Information panels explain, for instance, how certain mills exploited changes in level through double wheels, or how the flow of water was regulated along the channels to ensure a steady supply of power.

The layout of the village itself responds in part to this logic. Houses cluster on the western side of the torrent, where the ground rises gently and offers some shelter from the wind that sweeps across the Plana. On higher ground stands the church of Sant Martí, documented before the year 1050. Its bell tower dates from an eighteenth-century reform, although the base preserves older elements. Inside there is a sober Neoclassical altarpiece by an unknown author, similar to others found in churches across the comarca.

From Tenes to Calldetenes: A Name Takes Shape

The place name appears in medieval documents with changing spellings, such as Call de Tmes in the fourteenth century. Some studies link it to an earlier reference to a villa ruralis de Tenes cited in 941. In medieval Catalan, call could denote a small inhabited nucleus, while Tenes may derive from a personal name or from an ancient root connected to water.

For centuries the settlement was better known as Sant Martí de Riudeperes. The current name became established when the municipality was configured administratively in the mid twentieth century. The change also helped distinguish it from other villages dedicated to Sant Martí within the diocese of Vic.

Pig slaughter once played an important role in the traditional local economy. The butifarra made in the area follows a fairly direct preparation: minced lean pork and pancetta, salt and pepper, stuffed into natural casing and left to cure for a period that depends greatly on the dry climate of the Plana. Each producer keeps their own proportions and small variations. During the village festa major, usually held in September, butifarra often takes centre stage in communal meals.

Paths Across the Plana

Beyond the mills route, one of the clearest walks for understanding the wider landscape is the path up to the turó de Sant Marc. It begins near the cemetery and climbs steadily for about three kilometres. At the top there is a small open area from which much of the Plana de Vic spreads out below.

From this vantage point the shape of the depression is easy to grasp, ringed by higher ranges. On clear days the outlines of the Montseny appear to the east and, in the opposite direction, mountains of the Pre-Pyrenees. Below, the watercourses that once fed the old mills thread their way across the fields.

The walk can also be linked with the surroundings of the former Vilatorta aerodrome, used during the Spanish Civil War. Few visible elements remain, yet the site forms part of the aviation history associated with Vic and with the improvised aerodromes set up in the Republican rearguard.

Those with more time can continue on foot to the church of Sant Martí de Riudeperes, documented in the tenth century. The present building retains a Romanesque apse rebuilt in the twelfth century. It sometimes opens on Sunday mornings. At other times it is necessary to ask in nearby houses for the key, a practice that still survives in many rural churches across the comarca.

Getting There and Moving Around

Calldetenes lies just a few kilometres from Vic. From the C‑17, the usual approach is to enter the county capital first and then continue along the road towards Gurb, where the turn-off to the municipality appears.

Within the village there are several areas where parking is straightforward, including spaces near the football pitch and around the town hall. Travellers arriving by train can get off at Vic station on the R3 line and continue from there towards Calldetenes.

Small in size and closely connected to its surroundings, Calldetenes is best understood through its watercourses, its fields and the quiet persistence of its rural buildings. The mills along the torrent of Sant Martí, the elevated views from Sant Marc and the enduring presence of Sant Martí de Riudeperes all reflect a place shaped less by grand monuments than by the steady patterns of agricultural life in the Plana de Vic.