Dr. Salvador Andreu i Grau (Barcelona, 1841-1928) was one of the pioneers of the pharmaceutical industry in Spain and an outstanding urban developer in Catalonia. He participated in projects such as the Tibidabo Avenue, the urbanization of Cap Sa Sal in Begur, the development of the Puigcerdà lake area, the Bolvir golf course and the construction of the Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat line and stations in the center of Barcelona.
His villa was the large building next to the Torreta del Lago, which, in the mid-twentieth century, served as a hotel and in 1978 suffered a serious fire. Around the year 2000 it was faithfully rebuilt and converted into a residential building. The part where the stables of the old hotel used to be is currently the Hotel del Lago.
Another important figure was German Schierbeck (Copenhagen, 1842 – Barcelona, 1912), son of a Danish royal state councilor. After being deeply impressed by the Cerdanya during a visit in 1866, he ordered the construction of his summer residence “Ro de Rigolisa”, the current Consul’s Tower. In 1900, he gave several plots of land to the town council to plan new roads and a park around the lake, which would be renamed Schierbeck Park in his honor.