Balsareny Castle, Central Catalonia.
This Medieval castle was started in the year 951, with significant reforms in the 14th century. The chambers in the upper floor was restored in the 19th century.
The castle's building is explained in a local legend, according to which the castle is also called "The Castle of the Ninety Nine Chambers". The legend says that the Lord of Balsareny wanted to build a castle, but he didn't have enough people nor money to build it. He counted his means and thought over it, but he couldn't figure out a way until, desperate, he said "I would give anything to build my castle!". Hearing those words, the Devil appeared to him and offered him a deal: the Devil promised to build him a castle with 100 chambers, and in return the Lord would give him the soul of one of his vassals. The Lord accepted.
The Devil worked tirelessly, and in 6 days he had already built 99 chambers, one more and he would be finished. The Lord of Balsareny regretted having promised the soul of one of his vassalls, and decided to stop the deal. He placed an image of the Virgin Mary in the building. From then on, as the Devil worked and built the castle, the stones of parts of the castle already built flew back to the quarry. It didn't matter how much the Devil worked, because the building always stayed with 99 chambers.
The Devil continued working hard until he realized that there was divine intervention and he would never be able to finish. Then, he abandoned the work. To make sure that the Devil couldn't come back and ask for the vassal's soul, the Lord of Balsareny ordered to never build the 100th chamber. This way, the castle was never finished, and the deal wasn't fulfilled.
The statue of the Virgin is still worshipped in a 12th-century chapel built inside the castle.
Photos from Sortir amb nens, TripAdvisor, and Mama, què fem demà?. Historical information from Mapes del Patrimoni Cultural (Diputació de Barcelona). Legend from this article (page 64).
