Santa Coloma de Farners

Santa Coloma de Farners is a spa town and capital of the comarca of the Selva, in Catalonia, Spain, and of the judicial district of Santa Coloma. It is situated on the edge of the Selva Depression and of the Guilleries. The local economy is mainly commercial, given the status of the town as capital of the comarca, although summer tourism, agriculture and forestry products also contribute. The urban centre is to the north and west of the main modern communication routes, although the C-253 road links the town with the main N-II route and the AP-7 autopista and to the RENFE railway station at Sils 10 km.

The GE-533 runs through the northern part of the municipality, linking it with Vic to the west and with Riudellots de la Selva, Vilobi d'Onyar and Girona-Costa Brava Airport to the east. The town dates from at least 898, when the church is mentioned for the first time. Destroyed during the course of the Magyar invasion of 942, it was rebuilt in 950. During the Middle Ages it was under the ecclesiastical control of the Monastery of Sant Pere Cercada and the civil control of Farners Castle.

A market was established by a charter of King Peter IV of Aragon in 1334, and an independent barony was created in the 15th century, held by the Vilademany family. In the town of Santa Coloma, notable monuments include the Gothic Church of Santa Coloma whose current structure dates from the 14th century, the Placa de Farners and the Thermal Baths of Orion Balneari Termes-Orion. The 12th-century castle is 6 kilometres to the west of the urban centre within the municipal boundaries: the adjoining Santuari de la Mare de Deu de Farners Sanctuary of the Mother of God houses a noted state of Mary, the mother of Jesus.