Mare de Déu de Queralt

Patrona del Berguedà · Berga (Barcelona)

In the serra of Queralt, about 1,200 metres above Berga, a sanctuary on the cliff guards the patron of the Berguedà, crowned canonically in 1916.

Origin and history

The image is a small size of polychrome wood about 53 cm. The most widespread dating in the cultural heritage is in the second half of the 14th century, although the site of the sanctuary proposes the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th century; in any case it has been venerated in its mountain sanctuary since the Middle Ages.

The Mare de Déu de Queralt is a patron of the region of Berguedà and, unofficially, of Berga (whose official patron is Santa Eulàlia). The devotion was traditionally expressed with the "davalades," lowered from the image to Berga in times of plague, war, drought and plagues. In 1916, at the initiative of Father Postius, it was crowned canonically and restored by Dionís Renard. His big party, the "Gala de Queralt," is held on September 8.