The old abbey of Santa Maria at Gerri de la Sal is located in an area without any surrounding buildings. Features of particular interest include the slender form of the (three-tier) belfry. The abbey church is essentially the same, apart from a few minor additions, as when it was originally consecrated by the archbishop of Tarragona, who on the ocassion (25th September 1149) was accompanied by the bishops of Urgell, Barcelona, Vic, Girona, Lleida and Zaragoza and by the counts of Pallars. The building is extensive, consists of three naves and three apses. Without including the apse, the central nave measures 23.20 x 6.80 m and the laterals are 3.60 m wide. Taking into account the pillars, the total width of the building is 19 m. The central nave (which includes the highest part of the building) is covered by a barrel vault supported on lateral columns. These columns are covered by a half barrel vault and rest on the supports of the central nave and thereby also reinforce it. The three naves are separated by a row of solid pillars, each with a 2.50 m base, that form a cross pattern. These have attached columns to add support to the arches of the main vault. The central apse, behind which there is a later addition to the building in the form of a raised chamber and capitular room. Inside the apse there are other vaulted niches and three large windows decorated with columns and archvaults. The outer part the apse is decorated with blind arcades on corbels, separated by half columns under a saw-tooth frieze.


Built onto the original facade there is a vestibule with three parts, which has been adapted to the width and length of the naves. This is covered by an arris vault that covers the old main porch and is formed by progressively diminishing arches with a decorated archvault that rests upon two sculpted capitals. Later modifications made to the church did not take away any of its original charm, for example, the addition of additional tiers to the bell tower gave it a special slender look. In a similar manner, raising the roof over a series of empty arcs gave the impression of a perfect and balanced rythm and bestowed the whole building with a singular grace. The section of the main body containing the raised chamber and capitular room, which was added to the end of the church during the 17th seventeenth century, looks rather shoddy and hides the aspe. Although is does not provide the required depth, it does end in a small and quite pretty lantern-turret with a pyramid-shaped roof.