Osona () is a comarca situated 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 ...

, Northeast Spain. Its capital is

Vic Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan

county of Osona The County of Osona, also Ausona ( ca, Comtat d'Osona, ; la, Comitatus Ausonae), was one of the Catalan counties of the '' Marca Hispanica'' in the Early and High Middle Ages. It was based around the capital city of Vic (''Vicus'') and the corre ...

. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of Iberian people who had their capital in ''Ausa'' (today

); the Romans called the area ''Ausone'' or ''Ausona''. While most of the ''comarca'' is within the province of Barcelona, the municipalities of Espinelves,

Vidrà Vidrà is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Ges river, between the Bellmunt and Milany ranges, in the north of the ''comarca''. It is linked to Sant Quirze de Besora by a local ro ...

and Viladrau form part of the

province of Girona Girona (; es, Gerona ; french: Gérone) is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the ...

. The most important town of Osona is

, its capital and an important and ancient urban center in this natural region that lies in the midst of the

Plain of Vic The Plain of Vic (Catalan ''Plana de Vic'') is a 30 km long depression located at the eastern end of the Catalan Central Depression in the Osona comarca. It is named after the town of Vic, an important and ancient urban center in this natur ...

. Other significant towns in the plain are

Manlleu Manlleu () is municipality in the comarca of Osona, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. Manlleu is located in a large plain, La Plana de Vic, at around 460 metres above sea level on average. The highest point is Puig Agut chu ...

and Tona. This natural depression in the center of the region was carved by river Ter and its tributaries and makes up a big part of Osona's land. It is surrounded by mountains: The

Sub-Pyrenees The Sub-Pyrenees ( ca, Subpirineu) are a mountainous region in Catalonia, Spain, forming a section of the southern foothills of the Pyrenees. They are located at the eastern end of the Pre-Pyrenees, west of the Catalan Transversal Range, between ...

, with Bellmunt mountain towering in the north, the

Lluçanès Lluçanès () is a natural region transitioning between the Plain of Vic and Berguedà, in the pre-Pyrenees. Although not an officially recognized comarca of Catalonia, it has a strong historical, natural and social personality. Corresponding mun ...

(

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slop ...

) to the north-west and Moianès high plateau in the West, the Montseny in the southeast and the Guilleries, located at the apex of the

Catalan Transversal Range The Catalan Transversal Range (''Serralada Transversal'') is a system of minor mountain ranges at the eastern end of the Pre-Pyrenees, between the Osona and Garrotxa comarques. The existence of the Catalan Transversal Range has made communication ...

and the Pre-Coastal Range, in the east. Long famous for its local sausages (especially '' fuet'') and other pork derivatives, in recent years the area has become somewhat infamous for the pollution of its many waterways due to the

factory farming Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

of pigs and Dairy cattle. There are more pigs than people living in Osona. In the comarcal revision of 1990,

Sant Quirze de Besora Sant Quirze de Besora is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of Osona (comarca), Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the banks of the Ter River, Ter river in the north of the ''comarca''. It ...

became part of Osona; previously it formed part of the

Ripollès Ripollès (; es, link=no, Ripollés) is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. In 2001, its population was 25,744, about 40% of whom lived in the capital, Ripoll. Ripollès borders the c ...

. In May 2015, Osona lost the municipality of Collsuspina to the new comarca of Moianès.

Municipalities

References

External links

Official comarcal web site (in Catalan)

Information about Osona from the Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan)
{{coord, 41, 56, 53, N, 2, 14, 42, E, region:ES-CT_type:adm2nd_source:cawiki, display=title Comarques of the Province of Barcelona

Municipalities

See also

References

External links