Castellgalí
Castellgalí | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 41°40′23″N 1°50′17″E / 41.673°N 1.838°E | |
Country | Spain |
Community | Catalonia |
Province | Barcelona |
Comarca | Bages |
Government | |
• Mayor | Cristòfol Gimeno Iglesias (2015)[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 17.2 km2 (6.6 sq mi) |
Elevation | 266 m (873 ft) |
Population (2018)[3] | |
• Total | 2,053 |
• Density | 120/km2 (310/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Castellgalí, castellgalina |
Website | www |
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2023) |
Castellgalí is a municipality in the south of the region of Bages, Catalonia, where the Cardener and Llobregat rivers meet, and contains the BCIN (Cultural Asset of National Interest) Boades archaeological site and the Torre del Breny, one of the most outstanding ancient Greek sites in Catalonia.[4]
History
Iberian period
The first signs of population were found in Boades, which was initially an
Roman period
With the arrival of the
Middle Ages
The beginnings of the village coincide with those of its castle. A document from 867 mentions the Castelo de Galindo (Galindo Castle), attesting to the origin of the place's name. Little is known about the history of this castle, now in ruins. The first lords of the castle and the area were the Galí family. In 1178, the castle was sold, along with its lordship, to King
Modern times
In the 18th century there was a great expansion of
Contemporary age
The convulsive 19th century also marked Castellgalí, from the
The industrialisation of Castellgalí, which began in the 19th century, meant that the population grew until the end of the 1970s, except during the years of the
The population decreased until the mid-1990s, when the population began to grow to its present-day levels. It is also worth mentioning the birth of the residential area of Mas Planoi, in four zones. An area of
Places of interest
The confluence of the Cardener and Lobregat rivers
The place where the waters of the Cardener and Llobregat rivers meet at a large river area where riverside vegetation, especially
Boades archaeological site and Torre del Breny
Salvador Ginesta tells us about the origin of the name: "the place was once full of stones and weeds, which is the meaning of breny. Although in the speech of the Gauls, the word was equivalent to ringleader or a mountain. The monument was so named because of its location at the foot of a hill and because it was the tomb of a famous warlord".[This quote needs a citation]
Also known as the Tower of the Demons, Torre del Breny was mutilated in the Middle Ages when a farmhouse was built next to it: a door was opened, a window was opened and holes were made for the beams. It is a tomb in the form of a tower, whose base is still preserved today. It is of solid construction with its sides oriented to the four cardinal points. On the outside and at the top its mouldings and details are quite deteriorated. Inside two rectangular chambers are covered by two barrel vaults. The apparatus is quite regular, made up of large, well-cut ashlars of grey sandstone, dry-jointed and elongated in shape.
From drawings made by Laborde before its destruction, we can get an idea of what it originally looked like. It had a base (conditiorium) measuring 10x10.5 m, 3 m high; externally it had mouldings and other details as decorative elements; internally it was divided into two rooms and covered with a barrel vault. Above the base was the cell, which was probably also covered with a barrel vault. The upper part was surmounted by an ornamental frieze, above which was a cornice on which the slopes of the roof rested. The frieze was decorated with sculptural reliefs: a lion on either side of a nude female figure. On the other hand, E. Hübner and J. Gudi found a graffiti or inscription engraved on an ashlar that Marc Mayer believes must read: V VILGELMO QUE, which could date from the 10th-11th centuries and could correspond to a certain Wilgemus. Different researchers think that it would refer to the owner of the area where the building was located, but after the construction of the building.
Excedra In the neighbourhood of Boadas we can see this chamber with an apsidal semicircular floor plan, partially standing behind the Vilaseca and Cadevall farmhouses, next to the road that leads to the Carbures factory. The facing of the wall is made up of ashlars of natural stone from the area, of medium and small sizes, which can be identified as opus vittatum. The ashlars are well cut and arranged in horizontal courses. It has a window of considerable size crowned with a round arch made of roof tiles and fired-earth bricks, in a wall that reaches a height of 4 m. The exedra is a Roman building dating from the Lower Imperial period, very characteristic from the 3rd century onwards. Most villages of a certain size have chambers with these characteristics, and a markedly stately character.
Roman Sepulcre: In the same neighbourhood as Boadas, a small square Roman building from the 4th or 3rd century AD, with firm walls and a well-worked
Casa Amigant, Castellgalí Museum
Located next to the parish church of Sant Miquel. The beginning of history of this manor house can be traced back to documents from the end of the 17th century, but it probably existed before that. In 1673 Josep d'Amigant i FeIrer, first Count of Fonollar, bought the castle of Castellgalí from the Bolet family (who had also acquired the jurisdiction of the castle from the Rajadell family). This family of Manresa origin were the lords of Castellgalí until the abolition of feudal lordships by the Court of Cadiz. Josep d'Amigant i Ferrer took public possession of Castellgalí on October, 5th, 1673. In 1711 King Charles III granted him the title of Count of Fonollar. In 1684 he converted the building into a manor house, probably because the castle was in ruins, but he never lived there; when he modified the original structure he put his coat of arms on the façade. He favoured the Christian faith by having the relics of the town's patron saints carried and sold the plots of land along the royal road to form the town centre. His brother Francesc, canon and vicar general of Barcelona, gave the relics of San Honest on July, 27 of 1673 and made this saint and San Repelión co-patron saints of the town. In 1880, the heirs of the Amigants were the Despujol family, Marquises of Palmerola. It seems that the Amigants never lived in this house, in fact, in 1763 they rented the house of the Hostal to other people. Pere Playà Vilaseheir heir the to Cal Mas, bought the Amigant in 1873. The building now belongs to the Castellgalí Town Council. The museum was inaugurated in May, 5th of 1991; the Casal de Cultura was inaugurated in November, 25th of 2002. The part occupied by the social premises was the old Hostel Café of Castellgalí and its rooms were used for dances and film screenings at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, it houses the Youth Information Point, organises talks, has exhibition rooms and a computer room. On the front of the house (the west façade) we can see on the main lintel, the inscription 16IHS84 (1684 Iesus Hristus), under a cross; there is also, under a porthole, the coat of arms of the Amigant family. It is a coat of arms cut in stone, of a noble type with a central circle with two hands clasped in friendship. The outer part of the coat of arms is surrounded by scrolls that frame it, taped at the top by a standing human figure holding a feather in one hand and a wooden stick in the other.
Castle and chapel of Santa Maria
This castle had under its jurisdiction a term that must correspond to the current municipality, as even the area between the rivers Llobregat and Cardener already depended on it. The hilltop occupied by the castle had already been occupied previously, as fragments of
Church of Saint Michael of Castellgalí
In the centre of the old town. It is a church with two aisles, the central one wider and larger than the side one on the right-hand side. They are covered with an imitation ogival vault made of brick. At the point where the ribs of the vaults cross, there are six keystones with an ornamental function. Four pillars, supported by segmental arches, separate the central nave from the side nave. Below the roof, there are a series of rounded windows that, together with the porthole in the façade, contribute to the illumination of the building. A moulding below the windows runs along all the walls of the nave. On the left side there are four chapels, defined by pilasters that protrude slightly from the wall. The doorway is in the
Local festivals
Aplec [Meeting] of Saint Margaret
This festival on the third weekend of October was revived on 19 October 1992 by the Friends of the Museum. The festival, held before the Civil War, and occurred for the last time in July 1935. People used to walk up to the hermitage, stopping at the
Elders' Festival
This festival is held on the third weekend in February. A morning mass is held and the traditional Castellgalí dwarfs[clarification needed] are brought out to dance, considered the biggest dwarfs in Catalonia, called Margarida (the adult female figure),[5] Quela (the smaller female figure) and the Repel-lió (the male figure). In the Plaça Cadevall, there is a popular juried cake competition, promoted by the Friends of the Museum. There are prizes and a raffle. Finally, all the elderly people of the village eat a meal.
Festival of the "Panellet" (Bread Roll)
This festival has been held since 1968 on the first weekend in May, as after the closure of the
Festa Major [Main Festival]
Currently, this festival is celebrated the first weekend of August, and the following Monday is a local holiday. It is worth mentioning the popular botifarrada (fresh grilled sausages) with a show, the events of the Fiesta Joven (Youth Festival) and the Fiesta Mayor dances. Children's entertainment is organised in the different population centres of the municipality. Originally, the festival was dedicated to the co-patron saints Sant Honest and Sant Repel·lió and was held on the first weekend in September. The peasants prayed to these saints to protect their crops.
Economy and demographics
The average
The population (castellgalins or castellgalinenses) has fluctuated a lot over the years. After a significant decline throughout the second half of the 19th century, there was an increase that reached its peak in 1960, after which the population gradually declined until 1996, when it continued to grow until the present day: in 1986 the population was 705 and in 1991 it was 702. In 1996 there were 782 h in 2005, 1,282 h, in 2021, 2119 h. Today the number is close to 2.300 inhabitants.
Agriculture in the municipality is predominantly rain-fed. The main crops are barley, vegetables and olives. Livestock farming is quite rich, specialising mainly in the breeding of pigs, chickens and cows.
As for the industrial sector, the first company to set up in the municipality, in 1898, was the
The municipality currently has six industrial estates (Els Torrents, La Fàbrica, Boades, Els Carbures, Cal Carné and Pla del Camí), the latter built at the end of the 1990s.
1900 | 1930 | 1950 | 1970 | 1986 | 2007 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
775 | 1009 | 887 | 1033 | 705 | 1611 |
References
- Generalitat of Catalonia. Archivedfrom the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
- Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Archivedfrom the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
- ^ "Castells of Catalonia". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- ^ notice local saint Margarita/Margarita
- Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-02-1(Catalan).
- Tomàs Bonell, Jordi; Descubrir Catalunya, poble a poble, Catalan Press, Barcelona, 1994
External links
- Official website (in Catalan)
- Government data pages (in Catalan)