Sant Grau

Sant Grau is a small hermitage chapel crowning the Puig de Sant Grau hill in Caldes de Malavella, a Catalan town best known for its hot mineral springs. Set on Carrer de Sant Grau right next to the remains of a Roman bath complex, the chapel sits at the heart of one of the most layered historical sites in the area.

How old is the chapel, really?

The building visitors see today dates from a 19th-century rebuilding, but it was raised over a much older church. Devotion to Sant Grau in this exact spot is documented as far back as the 16th century, and historians link the site's origins to the Romanesque period, when it likely served as the chapel attached to the local castle. The architecture is deliberately plain: a rectangular floor plan, a double-pitched roof, and an austere facade topped by a small bell-gable campanile. Every year on October 3rd, the town marks the chapel's feast day with a local celebration.

What sits just outside the chapel doors?

In front of Sant Grau stand two small temple-like structures, built between 1910 and 1915. Each one shelters a spring — the Font de la Roqueta and the Font de l'Hospital — and together they form a modest but distinctive forecourt that's easy to miss if you don't know to look for it.

Why do people also come here for Roman ruins?

Long before the chapel existed, Romans were drawn to the same hill for its thermal water. Between roughly 40 and 50 AD they built baths on Puig de Sant Grau, and the remains — dated to the 1st century AD — are unusually well preserved, including a large square pool once used for bathing. The site, known as the Termes Romanes del Puig de Sant Grau, has been declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest. Entry is free, and information panels around the ruins explain how the ancient water system worked.

Is there anything left of a castle up here?

Yes. The same hilltop once carried a fortification known as the Castell de Caldes, or Castell de Sant Grau, built directly over the Roman bath remains. Most of it was torn down, but a circular structure roughly six meters tall still stands at the southern edge of the old site, facing the street that leads past the baths. That tower is generally dated to the second half of the 12th century and into the 13th, though its foundations may go back to Roman construction — one more layer in a hill where antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the 19th century all sit on top of one another.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is the Sant Grau chapel? It stands at the top of the Puig de Sant Grau hill, on Carrer de Sant Grau in Caldes de Malavella, right beside the town's Roman bath ruins.

Is the current chapel building original? No — the structure visible today was rebuilt in the 19th century over an earlier church. Worship at the site is documented from the 16th century onward, with likely Romanesque roots.

Can visitors see the Roman baths next to the chapel? Yes. The 1st-century AD ruins are open to the public free of charge, fitted with information panels, and protected as a Cultural Asset of National Interest.

Are there castle remains on the same hill? Yes — a roughly six-meter circular tower from the Castell de Caldes (also called Castell de Sant Grau) survives, dated to the 12th–13th centuries, though its base may be Roman in origin.