Montclar d'Urgell is a village in the province of
Lleida
Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida.
Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
, in
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. The village and its surrounding area previously formed its own
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, but it is now (since 1970) an
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of
Agramunt
Agramunt is a municipality (''municipi'') in the ''comarca'' of the Urgell in Catalonia. It is situated in the north of the ''comarca'', near the border with the Noguera. The town centre is protected as a historic-artistic monument, especially t ...
. It is also an exclave of the ''comarca'' of
Urgell
Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Ur ...
, lying within the comarca of
Noguera. The village is located on the crest of the Montclar mountain range, that crosses out from east to west. The
Urgell canal
Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Urg ...
passes through crossing the Montclar range through a tunnel. Montclar is linked by road to the local C-14 between Artesa de Segre and Agramunt.
Demography
Interesting places
Montclar Castle
![Castell de Montclar d'Urgell-Angle sud-est](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Castell_de_Montclar_d%27Urgell-Angle_sud-est.JPG)
The majestic Montclar Castle presided over the town that bears his name. The castle is built on the remains of an old Roman tower keep. The castle is documented from the year 981, making it the oldest in the area. Inside you can still see part of the wall of the tower from tribute century Roman II. Most of the first floor of the present castle was built in the thirteenth century. And the upper floors were remodeled after the Christian reconquest and currently show an elegant architecture of the Catalan Renaissance, dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The castle was restored in 1970, was declared a national Historic Monument in 1979 and is now open to visitors.
Only six families have owned the Montclar castle from the Christian reconquest: the Tost (until 1067), the Cabrera (1067-1179), the Ribelles (1179-1418), the Pons (1418-1689), the Despujol (1689-1986) and Miguel (1986 to present).
Church of St. James
![Montclar d'Urgell-Church of Sant Jaume](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Montclar_d%27Urgell-Church_of_Sant_Jaume.JPG)
The parish church is dedicated to St. James. Built in the seventeenth century Baroque style. The building is of stone, has a six altar and side altars. One feature that makes it unique are the two hearts that unlike all the churches in which they are placed one on each side, they are placed one above the other. The heart only accessible from above the castle and allowed nobles saw mass without mixing with the lower classes. Currently there is still celebrating Mass every Sunday.
Montclar Mine
![Boca sud - Mina de Montclar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Boca_sud_-_Mina_de_Montclar.JPG)
At 160 meters deep and close to the vertical village, the canal crosses the Montclar range through an impressive tunnel known as the Montclar Mine. The tunnel is completely straight, with a length of 4,917 m., 5'15 m wide. and a height of 5'47 m. The mine began building in November 1853 and was fully completed in November 1861, thanks to the work load of 150 animals and more than 6,000 people, including architects, masons, laborers and especially to convict forced realized toughest and dangerous jobs. Hundreds of them died during construction and were buried in a mass grave in the cemetery of Montclar, hence we can see that this is unusually large for a town of this size. For your convenience 13 wells were drilled from the surface of the mountain to the appropriate level. All the work was done by force of arms, thus removing debris excavated more than 500 trucks. For nearly a century it was the longest tunnel and hydraulic works in Europe. In 1977 repairs were made in the central part where the water made great caverns in the rock. During the winter organized hike inside the tunnel.
Culture
Folklore
![Massaporc de Montclar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Massaporc_de_Montclar.jpg)
* The "Fantasma Jaumet" is a giant ghost built in 2011 with a wooden structure has a height of 3 meters and a width of 2.5 meters. It's responsible for making the first dance festival in Saint James, the most important festival of the village. In 2012 it was changed and he included a tongue and eyes of cardboard phones. Montclar people always told legends of ghosts and witches. These legends are fueled largely by the presence of the Montclar castle. This led to the construction of a giant ghost form, which took the name in honor Saint James, patron of the village.
* The Massaporc an element of
beast Montclar Urgell shaped
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
, built in 2013 with a wooden structure and coating
Cardboard
Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light b ...
. The wild boar is an animal that is easily to find on the Montclar mountain range.
Local festivals
* Saint Sebastian, January 20: Montclar people vote him in gratitude to cure the plague village. Currently held.
* Saint Vicente, on January 22, if the day of the festival was sunny, Montclar people kept an oil lamp burning throughout the year in the skull of Saint Vincent, located in the church of St. James. All the villagers contributed oil to keep it burning. If, however, the day was foggy, he did not light the whole for a year.
* Saint Mark, April 25, on Sunday later all the people walk in procession to the shrine
Salgar
Salgar () is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is part of the subregion of Southwestern Antioquia
Southwestern Antioquia is a subregion in the Colombian Department of Antioquia. The region is made up o ...
located 8 km Montclar formerly the mayor and aldermen encapçalavent the procession and no one could speak all the way up to the shrine.
* Saint James, July 25: it is dedicated the church and on the closest weekend, the festival takes place, which is one of the busiest in the province, and has seen performances of groups such as , ,
Doctor Prats
Doctor Prats is a band from Terrassa in Catalonia, Spain that was formed in 2015.
History
Doctor Prats was created in 2015, with the intent to be solely an online band. The same year, they released their first album, (Potatoes with fish). ...
or .
References
* Els castells de Catalunya: Lleida. Carme Polo. (Catalan), pages 157-186
* El tresor dels Canals d'Urgell. Jaume Mateu, Josep Ripoll, Josep Vallverdú. (Catalan), pages 54–59
* Fets, costums i llegendes: L'Urgell II. Joan Bellmunt i Figueras. {{ISBN, 84-7935-035-0 (Catalan), pages 16–21
Populated places in Urgell