In the shady Rigard River valley (in El Ripollès), there were two pasture lands owned by Pere Valldaura and Joan Espinet, two residents of Planoles. That was the seed of tourism in Planoles.

History

Dionís Palau i Surroca, the mayor of Planoles during the waning years of the Franco regime, was the driving force behind a project that was aimed at bringing high-end tourism to the town, along with jobs for its residents. In theory, it was a building to house the Women's Section of the Falange during their group stays in the Pyrenees, where they primarily went to ski. Thus, construction began in 1965 on a kind of hotel, although it was never used for that purpose. After the dictatorship ended, the building came to be owned by the Government of Catalonia, and it opened as a youth hostel in the summer of 1983. Now, the main figure related to this building was no longer the Women's Section but the Catalanist Pere Figuera, who lent his name to the hostel. This is a symbol that goes beyond management, given that he had always fought for Catalonia’s freedom. Born in Barcelona in 1929, Pere Figuera joined the Minyons Escoltes (scouts) from the Agrupament Escolta Mare Déu de Montserrat in 1946. Later, he studied to be a chemical expert and earned his law degree at the University of Barcelona.

But as a man of action and reflection, he and other colleagues launched the underground magazine Ictini. He also used poetry as a vehicle for promoting Catalanism and thus became the driving force behind the first university poetry anthologies. He died in a car accident in 1970, but he actively recalled as an exemplary patriot.1

1. Pere Figuera i Serra et al. (1929-1970).
Record homenatge a un líder de la clandestinitat antifranquista.
Ed. Proa, Barcelona 2007.

Architecture

The building is comprised of two main bodies joined by a symmetrical axis where the central entrance area converges. The typical features of mountain structures, like the slate roof and the large openings in the façade, complete the building's appearance. The hostel has a half-basement, a ground floor, two upper floors and an attic. Outside there is a large esplanade surrounding the building. One of the unique features is the small triangular terraces made by the staggered roof, a hallmark of this hostel which gives all rooms a balcony. The architect Agustí Vila is currently in charge of modifying the ground floor to make it into a learning camp.