Llinars and the Santa Maria Church first appear in written records from 919. Our Lady of the Meadow is the patron saint of the people of Llinars, and the town celebrates her feast day on 8 September.
Construction of the current church began in 1680 atop a Romanesque temple, vestiges of which may be seen at the base of the bell tower. Due to various interruptions, work on the building was not completed until 1781, although it has experienced a number of changes throughout the years. The church has one nave, with four bays, large buttresses and six side chapels, as well as a polygonal apse and rib vaulted roof.
The main façade is outlined by meandering ribs of moulding and crowned with a cross. In the centre we find a two and a half metre diameter rose window with an iron and copper star in the middle. The entire façade is edged with granite stone, and the blue adornments represent the colours of the Virgin Mary.
The second level of the bell tower is home to four bells: the northernmost bell is the oldest, dating to 1587, and bears the most unusual markings; the one to the south dates to 1803; and the two smaller bells, to the east and west, were hung in 1960, to replace those destroyed during the Civil War.
The bell tower’s third storey was built in 1929 to install three faces of the public clock. The northern face was added in the 1980s.
In the early stages of the War, the church was sacked and set on fire. A number of religious objects were lost, including the large altar and an image of the Virgin Mary. Also burned in the fire was the old rectory, which was attached to the main façade and occupied what is today the arcade, stairs and much of the street. The Llinars parish archives disappeared in the flames, and the rectory was torn down in September 1936 due to the risk it posed to the population.
Between the rectory and the Ca l’Alemany farmhouse was a narrow street wide enough for just one cart. After the War, the church’s main door was relocated to the centre of the façade and efforts were made to preserve the lowered arch dating to 1781. The interior of the church was also restored, and a new gilded reredos bearing an image of Our Lady of the Meadow by sculptor Frederic Marès was installed.
Construction of the new rectory, gallery and stairway to the entrance began in 1950. Between 1936 and 1951, the rector lived in Can Marco, in the square.
To the south of the church stood Llinars’ old parish cemetery, which fell into disuse in 1893 after the current cemetery was blessed and began to be used.