Santa Coloma de Farners () is a spa town and capital of the ''comarca'' of the

Selva Selva () is a coastal comarque (county) in Catalonia, Spain, located between the mountain range known as the Serralada Transversal or Puigsacalm and the Costa Brava (part of the Mediterranean coast). Unusually, it is divided between the provinc ...

, 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, and of the judicial district of Santa Coloma. It is situated on the edge of the Selva Depression and of the

Guilleries The Guilleries Massif (Catalan ''Les Guilleries'') is a mountain system located at the apex of the Catalan Transversal Range and the Pre-Coastal Range. The highest point of the range is Sant Miquel de Solterra or Sant Miquel de les Formigues (1. ...

. The local economy is mainly commercial, given the status of the town as capital of the comarca, although summer tourism, agriculture and forestry products also contribute. The urban centre is to the north and west of the main modern communication routes, although the C-253 road links the town with the main N-II route and the AP-7 ''autopista'' and to the RENFE railway station at

Sils Sils or SILS may refer to: Places *Sils, Girona, a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Selva in Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils (Catalonia), an ancient lake near Sils, Catalonia, Spain ** Lake Sils, a lake in the Upper Engadine in the Grisons, Switzer ...

(10 km). The GE-533 runs through the northern part of the municipality, linking it with

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): ...

to the west and with

Riudellots de la Selva Riudellots de la Selva is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Selva in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the basin of the Onyar river, on the A-7 ''autopista'' and the main N-II road, and is served by a RENFE railway station on the line ...

, Vilobí d'Onyar and Girona-Costa Brava Airport to the east. The town dates from at least 898, when the church is mentioned for the first time. Destroyed during the course of the Magyar invasion of 942, it was rebuilt in 950. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

it was under the ecclesiastical control of the Monastery of Sant Pere Cercada and the civil control of Farners Castle. A market was established by a charter of King

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

in 1334, and an independent

barony 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 ...

was created in the 15th century, held by the Vilademany family. In the town of Santa Coloma, notable monuments include the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Church of Santa Coloma (whose current structure dates from the 14th century), the Plaça de Farners and the Thermal Baths of Orion (''Balneari Termes-Orion''). The 12th-century castle is six kilometres to the west of the urban centre (within the municipal boundaries): the adjoining ''Santuari de la Mare de Déu de Farners'' (Sanctuary of the Mother of God) houses a noted state of

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. The Roman-styled Monastery of Sant Pere Cercada is three kilometres further on from the castle. Santa Coloma has always played an important role with regards to forests, being an area of intensive production and of considerable political influence with regard to the regional forest policy. It is host to the Catalan Forestry House, where the most representative forestry-related organisations of Catalonia share offices: the Consorci Forestal de Catalunya, one of the oldest agrarian organisations of Catalonia, representing the interests of the private forest owners, the Fundació Boscos, a private foundation dedicated to the dissemination of cultural and educational values around forests, ARCMED, the federation of Mediterranean foresters, an organisation represented in Brussels to represent over 600.000 forest owners from 7 Mediterranean countries, and the leading forestry research centre of Catalonia, the

Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

(CTFC).

Demography

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan).

External links

Official Site - in Catalan

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Coloma De Farners Municipalities in Selva Populated places in Selva