Balsareny is a municipality in the North of 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, ...

Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the center of Catalonia, Spain. It includes a ''subcomarca'', Lluçanès. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Carden ...

in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .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 nort ...

, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the river

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'sorrowful' or 'muddy', or ...

, with its typical forests of Aleppo pines. It is connected by road (BP-4313) with

Súria Súria () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Bages in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Cardener river between Manresa and Cardona. The area is best known for its deposits of potassium salts In chemistry, a sal ...

and

Avinyó Avinyó is a Catalan municipality in Spain. It is located in the province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tar ...

The name is thought to be derived from the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

words ''balç'' (

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

) and ''areny'' (sand); the castle and the village have their origins on an escarpment in a sandy plane. The first written mention of the settlement (as ''pago bazarenensi'') dates from 966. The village developed around the castle, which was built at a strategic point at the confluence of the river Mujal with the Llobregat, but most people lived in dispersed ''

masia A masia in Catalan (or es, masía and an, pardina) is a type of rural construction common to the east of Spain: Catalonia, Valencian Community, Aragon, Languedoc and Provence (in the south of France). The estate in which the masia is located is ...

s'' (farms). At the end of the 16th century, Baron Ferran Oliver sold some land around the castle and three streets were created: ''Carrer Vell'' (Old Street, nowadays Àngel Guimerà), ''Carrer Nou'' (New Street) and ''Carrer de la Creu'' (Cross street). A sanctuary dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

is documented since 1009. The romanesque Church of St. Mary dates from late 13th century, but the building has undergone many transformations since then. The town was walled, but with the increase of population, new streets were added outside the walls. In the 19th century the walls were demolished and the roads were improved. Along with the Manresa-

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga derives its name f ...

railway (1885, closed down 1973), this contributed toward a flourishing

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

, though this has now almost disappeared. In 1945 the extraction of the rich layers of

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosph ...

salts ( sylvite and carnallite) started, and today this remains a major employer, but many other small and medium enterprises have also been created. There is also one of the major European production plants from Gates Corporation, an American manufacturer of

power transmission Power transmission is the movement of energy from its place of generation to a location where it is applied to perform useful work. Power is defined formally as units of energy per unit time. In SI units: :\text = \frac = \frac Since the develo ...

belts and fluid power, employing about 240 people. On 7 August 1963 the guerrilla leader

Ramon Vila Capdevila Ramon Vila Capdevila (; 2 April 1908 – 7 August 1963), sometimes known by various nicknames, including ''Caracremada'' (Catalan: "burnt-face"), was a Catalan anarchist, member of the ''Confederación Nacional del Trabajo'' (Spanish: National Con ...

- the last of the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis were Spanish guerrillas who waged an irregular warfare against the Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early 1960s, carrying out sabotage, robberies (to help fund ...

to hold out since the end of 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, link ...

- was killed by ''

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...

'' officers near a castle in Balsareny.

Demography

According to Spanish census data,Balsareny population statistics
/ref> this is the population of Balsareny in recent years.

References

External links

Government data pages
Municipalities in Bages {{Barcelona-geo-stub