Cardona is a town in the Spanish region of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, on a hill almost surrounded by the river

Cardener The Cardener is a river in Catalonia, Spain. Its source is at ''Les Fonts del Cardener'' in the municipality of La Coma i la Pedra (Solsonès) at an elevation of . It drains a basin of . It passes through the reservoir of Sant Ponç (25 hm3) ...

, a branch of the

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...

. To the east of the town, the river has been diverted through a tunnel has been dug through a spur, leaving a loop of dry river bed near the saltmine. RockSaltCardona

Near the town is an extensive deposit of

rock salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

. The salt forms a mountain mass (called ''Muntanya de Sal'') covered by a thick bed of a reddish-brown clay, and apparently resting on a yellowish-grey

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. It is generally more or less translucent, and large masses of it are quite transparent. The hill has been worked like a mine since Roman times; pieces cut from it have been carved by artists in Cardona into images, crucifixes and many articles of an ornamental kind.

Main sights

*The

Castle of Cardona The Castle of Cardona ( ca, Castell de Cardona, ) is arguably the most important medieval fortress in Catalonia and one of the most important in Spain. It is situated on a hill overlooking the river valley of the Cardener and the town of Cardon ...

, which is set high on a hill and contains a

Parador A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually locat ...

hotel. *The 11th-century Romanesque Church of St. Vincenç. *The Church of ''Sant Miquel'', built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 14th century in Gothic style. It houses a precious

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a "triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapty ...

by Pere Vall, depicting ''St. Anne, the Virgin and St. Amador'', and a 15th-century baptismal font.
Cardona March 2015-5a

Local festivals

*Caramelles: The Sunday of Passover *Mercat de la ganga: The first Sunday of February *Fira de Pentecostés: The first Sunday of June *Fira de la Llenega: The last Sunday of October *Festa Major: The second last weekend in September *Aplec de Cardona: 18 September

Notable people

Serafín Marsal Serafin Marsal ( Cardona, Spain, 1862 – Asunción, 1956) was a Spanish born Paraguayan sculptor.YUBI, Javier. TESOROS DE BARRO. Text published in the Sunday magazine "ABC Color" on 28 October 2007. Biography After studying for six years at the ...

(1862–1956), Paraguayan sculptor

Notes

The movie ''

Chimes at Midnight ''Falstaff (Chimes at Midnight)'' ( Spanish: ''Campanadas a medianoche'') is a 1966 period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Orson Welles. The Spanish-Swiss co-production was released in the United States as ''Chimes at Midnight'' an ...

'', by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, was filmed at the castle in Cardona.

Twin towns

* Cardona,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Bibliography

* *Pedrosa, Andreu (2001). ''The Castle of Cardona''. Sant Vincenç de Castellet: Farell. * Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan).

References

External links

* (''in Catalan'')
Associació Cultural El Mercat del Blat
(Cultural Association of Cardona)
Associació Cultural 18 de Setembre
(Cultural Association of Cardona)
Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Bages Populated places in Bages