Prades is a municipality in the '' comarca'' of Baix Camp, in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

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 main monuments are Santa Maria church in the town, as well as the Ermita de l'Abellera shrine located in an escarpment, outside the town's perimeter. This town gives its name to the Prades Mountains, located in the vicinity of the municipality. It is a high altitude town, very cold in the winter, but popular as a tourist spot in the summer.

History

Count Ramon Berenguer IV made the concession of a

municipal charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

to the place in 1159. The last

saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s were expelled from the area. By 1200 Prades had already its own market and the town grew in importance and power. The County of Prades included the

Barony of Entença Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

, as well as other towns in the area. Its total surface was 1,157 km² and its dominions extended across the present-day Baix Camp,

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...

and Alt Camp comarcas.

References

*Tomàs Bonell, Jordi; ''Descobrir Catalunya, poble a poble'', Prensa Catalana, Barcelona, 1994

External links

Prades Town Hall webpage

Government data pages
Municipalities in Baix Camp Populated places in Baix Camp {{Tarragona-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links