Ancs

ANCS: History, altitude and silence in the north-west of Baix Pallars

Situated at 1,457 metres above sea level, the village of Ancs stands in the north-west of the municipality of Baix Pallars, beside the ravine of the same name. It borders Pobellà (la Torre de Capdella) to the north-west, Mencui (Soriguera) to the east and Sellui (Baix Pallars) to the south.

It is an area traditionally linked to livestock farming and hunting, crossed by the old drove road, with open landscapes, panoramic views and trails ideal for hiking and mountain biking.

The first documented references to Ancs and its church of Santa Cecília date from the mid-10th century, when it formed part of the possessions of the monastery of Santa Maria de Gerri. In 1426, the church was sold to Count Joan I of Foix, Viscount of Castellbò.

The old church of Santa Cecília

Its remains are located to the south of the village, beside the access track. It was a church with a single nave and a semicircular apse, probably built between the 11th and 12th centuries. Today, only part of the north wall survives, reused as part of the cemetery.

The current parish church dates from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. From the old Santa Cecília de Ancs comes a remarkable Romanesque carved Virgin in polychrome wood, now preserved in the Diocesan Museum of La Seu d’Urgell.

Ancs was historically the most important village in the valley. The parish church had the churches of Sellui and Balestui as its suffragans, and it once had up to 160 inhabitants living in 22 houses. Like many other villages in Pallars, it suffered a sharp demographic decline during the 1950s and 1960s, and today only 5 habitable houses and 3 registered inhabitants remain.

Following the track towards Mencui, on top of a hill at 1,839 metres, we find the hermitage of Sant Quiri, with a single nave and a raised apse. Its date is uncertain, but during the 1989 restoration, a lipsanotheca was found that suggests it was built no later than the 12th century.

To the north of Ancs, a possibly Romanesque aqueduct is preserved, which supplied the village with water and crosses the Grasseta ravine. It is a testimony to rural engineering that shows the intelligent use of natural resources.