Besalú becomes the earldom's capital in 902 after the death of Guifré el Pilós. In 1111, when Bernat III dies without a heir to succeed him, and being married to the daughter of Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona, the earldom is transferred to the House of Barcelona. The beautiful Romanesque and Gothic buildings that can still be seen nowadays, date from this period. The medieval monumental ensemble, which was declared a Historical and Artistic National Ensemble in 1966, is one of the most significant ones in Catalonia, on account of its architectural value.
The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France. Wilfred the Hairy, credited with the unification of Catalonia, was Count of Besalú. The town was also the birthplace of Raimon Vidal, a medieval troubadour.
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