Flix () is a town in the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

'' of

Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. in the Terres de l'Ebre, and that extends to both sides of the river Ebro between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet Miravet is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre in the ...

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 ...

, Spain. Situated on a promontory by the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

river, the town occupied an important strategic position. Situated on the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

–

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 ...

railway line, it expanded in the early twentieth century with the construction of a

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

in 1948 and a large

chemical plant A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transform ...

, ''Electroquímica de Flix''. One of the main tourist attractions is fishing in the horseshoe-shaped bend in the river (day ticket). Every year there is a large international fishing competition in Flix.

History

Flix was the site of a battle in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

in 1938. The

Battle of the Iron Bridge The Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the Muslim Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 AD. The battle took its name from a nearby nine-arch stone bridge (also known as Jisr al-Hadid) spanning the Orontes River which had gates ...

was fought between the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

and the Fascists as part of the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

. The operation was initially a success for the republicans with the construction of the iron bridge nearly complete by the 3rd Division. However at the end they had lost 3,000 soldiers and the battle. Today there is a memorial to this battle at Flix. In 2005, the existence of a vast

polluted Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

area on the shores of the Flix Reservoir was disclosed. The

environmental disaster An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.Jared M. Diamond, '' Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'', 2005 This point disti ...

involving large quantities of

toxic waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...

was caused by the Ercros

chemical factory A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transform ...

, located by the shore of the artificial lake. Following this disclosure, an ambitious plan to clean up the area was drawn. This plan involves the building of containment barriers and the removal and treatment of the hazardous chemical waste.Comencen les obres de col·locació de la barrera que aïllarà els llots tòxics del pantà de Flix durant la descontaminació
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Demography

The population of Flix has grown since 1900 and peaked in the 1980s.Statistical information - Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya
accessed August 2009

References

External links

Official website

Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Ribera d'Ebre Populated places in Ribera d'Ebre