Sant Andreu del Prat del Campanar, the church the avalanches took

On the road heading north out of Arinsal there’s a small church that sums up this parish’s relationship with snow better than most. Sant Andreu del Prat del Campanar stands about 400 metres above the village, by the roadside, and what you see today is the rebuild of a Romanesque church that avalanches destroyed not once but twice.

Why was it rebuilt?

The original Romanesque church was buried by avalanches in the 13th century and again in the 17th. The current one went up on the same spot. It’s small and rectangular, with a semicircular apse to the east, the entrance to the west and a bellcote with a single opening. Against the south wall is a 1983 annexe holding the vault of the Rossell family of Andorra la Vella, who own the church.

What lay beneath the floor

The 1969 to 1973 excavations were very fruitful. They turned up fragments of Romanesque wall painting, a large amount of medieval pottery, a batch of 12th-century coins, a tufa reliquary and several burials. To me that proves there was life and worship here long before Arinsal filled up with skiers.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Sant Andreu del Prat del Campanar and pick one that fits your day.

Fitting it into your visit

It’s a short stop on the way to or from the Pal Arinsal ski area. Information and visits are handled by the La Massana tourist office. To carry on with the parish’s Romanesque, Sant Cristòfol d’Anyós is a few kilometres further down, while the other churches across Andorra are in the Romanesque churches of Andorra.

Getting there

The L5 national bus climbs to Arinsal; on weekdays it runs every 20 minutes early on and every half hour later. From the village, the church is about 400 metres to the north beside the road, an easy short walk.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Andorra la Vella before you arrive rather than at the desk.

What’s nearby

The village has a second church to the same saint, Sant Andreu d’Arinsal, from the 17th century, which rests directly on the bedrock and was restored by Cèsar Martinell in the 1960s; inside hangs an 18th-century Our Lady of the Snows. The Comapedrosa Nature Park begins just beyond the village, with the country’s highest summit at its head.

Is it worth stopping?

For anyone sleeping in Arinsal or heading up to walk in the Comapedrosa, it’s a five-minute stop that gives the whole valley context. If you’re after Romanesque paintings on show, or an interior to visit, Pal or Anyós are better. I like it as a history lesson, because two avalanches in four centuries explain why the mountain has always called the shots here. And if you’re driving up to the ski area, simply pull over for a moment to look at it. In winter, with snow all around, it’s easy to picture the avalanches that twice destroyed it. Ask the La Massana tourist office if you’d like to know more about the excavations and what they found there.

If you still need a way in, check the best ticket deals to Andorra la Vella from where you are.