Cal Mateu-Musée de Cerdagne

Once upon a time in the Cerdagne…

Housed in a magnificent eighteenth-century farm, the Cerdagne Cal Mateu Museum is a fine example of a large-scale Cerdagne agricultural estate.

The history of the domain is linked to the history of the area. In the seventeenth century, the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) divided the Cerdagne in half between France and Spain.

Starting out as a modest farm and becoming a vast estate, the house belonged to the Sicart family who built it up over time until it attained the stature of a domain representing royal power. In fact for a hundred years, generations of the Sicart family acted as magistrates (Viguiers) representing the King of France in Cerdagne. The turmoil of the French Revolution put an end to the role of the magistrate and the destiny of the estate underwent further changes. In 1810, it was sold to a wealthy Barcelona businessman, Mathieu Riu and took on the name it has today, Cal Mateu.
Nevertheless, the estate continued its agricultural activities until the 1990’s, when Jacques and Marie Bragulat, farmers who worked the land since 1952, finally retired.

The Cal Mateu- Cerdagne Museum is a member of two prestigious organisations, Monuments Historiques and Musée de France. Its stunning high altitude vegetable garden traces the history and geography of the estate. Through its mostly agricultural related collections presented in its permanent and temporary exhibitions, its guided tours and cultural and activities and programs, you can experience the many facets of Cerdagne, its history its border identity, its wealth and its evolution over the centuries.