The Juli Soler i Santaló Hostel was opened in 1971 in Salardú after two years of building work funded by members of the Hiking Club of Catalonia (CEC).
Located at an altitude of 1,274 metres, it belongs to a network of CEC hostels.
Why is it named after Juli Soler i Santaló?
Juli Soler i Santaló was an engineer, photographer, member of the CEC and a great mountain climber with a passion for mountains. He especially loved the mountains in the Vall d’Aran and Pallars areas, and the peak known as La Maladeta.
He was so knowledgeable about the area that in 1906 he published the region’s first guide book called La Vall d’Aran. Guia monogràfica de la comarca (Vall d’Aran. Monographic Guide of the Region). One year later, in 1907, he set up the weather station in Vielha.
He was the driving force behind the Renclusa mountain cabin (opened in 1916) at the foot of Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees.
Hiking Club of Catalonia
The Hiking Club of Catalonia (CEC) is a sports and cultural club founded in 1876 that currently has more than 3,500 members and a total of seven facilities in the region.
In 1877, it started to rent the second floor of a 15th century building in Barcelona, in the middle of the Gothic Quarter (the highest spot in Roman Barcelona, then called Barcino). The capitals of three columns from the Temple of Augustus dating from 1 AD used to tower above the building, which still houses the HQ of the CEC.
The columns were left totally exposed to the naked eye following the building work started in 1904 by the architect Domenech i Montaner to refurbish the space. It transpired that in Roman times the Temple of Augustus used to sit on top of Barcino’s Taber Hill. The columns are now a unique feature in the premises, of which the Club is extremely proud. Since 1904, the CEC has been divided into sections, amongst which is the Mountain Sports Section that made mountain climbing and winter sports mainstream pastimes.
Among may other members, local personalities such as Pompeu Fabra, Jacint Verdaguer, César August Torras, Àngel Guimerà, Santiago Rusiñol, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Domènech i Montaner all stand out.
