La Vall de Laguar
The Sant Josep de La Vall de Laguar Chapel is located between the towns known as Fleix and Campell. To get there, head south from Campell along the street called Carrer de Sant Antoni; after a short walk, the route passes in front of a campsite and immediately afterwards is where the hermitage stands, overlooking a bend in the path on a slope accessible by a short but steep track. Visitors can enjoy excellent views from the chapel’s area.
This route links these two towns, Fleix and Campell, with the nearby town called Murla, which is why the chapel can also be visited from the latter locality by taking the route in reverse.
Due to a change in the layout of the road, at the end of the last century the chapel was dismantled and rebuilt nearby, and therefore the current location is different from the original one. However, the surroundings remain the same.
In the absence of documented evidence regarding its original construction date, Ramón Candelas Orgilés suggests that it was built during the first half of the 20th century. At the time of its transfer, the original hermitage was half-abandoned and threatened with ruin. Nowadays, it is in a magnificent state of conservation.
The hermitage itself is an elongated, free-standing building, located between cultivated fields and trees that reach up to its walls. Stone steps lead up the slope to the terrace where the building is located. Its masonry walls are whitewashed except for the corners and the door and window frames where the stone blocks have been left exposed, giving it a certain padded appearance. It has a tiled gable roof, with only a slight slope. The transept is straight and on either side there are windows that illuminate the presbytery.
The entrance is framed by a semicircular stone arch. Above the doorway, painted on ceramic tiles, is the name of the chapel, and a ceramic plaque depicting La Fugida a Egipte (Flight to Egypt). The chapel is crowned by a stylised brick belfry with a bell named Sant Josep, cast in 1999 and topped by a wrought-iron cross.
Inside, the chapel has a single flat roof and a ceramic floor. A modern image of Sant Josep amb El Xiquet (Saint Joseph with the little boy) presides over the apse.
On Sant Josep’s traditional festival day, the 19th of March, there is a pilgrimage from Campell to the hermitage, where mass is held at ten in the morning, followed by what is known as a xocolatada popular (which is when hot chocolate is shared out to everyone).