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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 Montsant although this region also has a small segment of the neighboring comarca, Ribera d'Ebre as well. However, galena mining was the main activity since prehistoric times until 1972, when the last galeana mine closed. The other main agricultural activity is the production of olives and olive oil, the latter of which is certified under DOP Siurana. Historically there was greater production of hazelnuts and almonds but these activities have become mostly for personal use. In late 1800s, a devastating attack of the insect phylloxera destroyed vines and mining kept activities and around twenty mines opened at that time. Priorat saw a steady loss of population throughout the 20th century due to a number of external factors such as the Spanish Civil War and the rise of coastal tourism. In 2004, with a more prosperous economy there was an overall increase in population that peaked in 2010 and has since been decreasing again each year. In 2001, the population was 9,196, with only the capital, Falset exceeding a population of 1,000 and while it has over 2,800 residents as of 2017, the comarca overall has reduced to 9,345 from a high of 10,145 making it the 3rd least populated comarca in all of Catalonia.


Physical geography

Priorat has an area of 496 km2 and is bordered by the River Ebro, and by the comarques of
Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. in the Terres de l'Ebre, and that extends to both sides of the river Ebro between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet Miravet is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre in the ...
, Baix Camp, les Garrigues, and
Conca de Barberà Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is . At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amalgamated; Rojals was combined with Mon ...
. The region is mostly hilly, and in the extreme north of the comarca is the Montsant mountain range, rising to over 1000 m; the south is bordered by the
Mola de Colldejou Mola de Colldejou is a mountain chain in Catalonia, Spain located north of the Serra de Llaberia in the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range. The highest point is 921.8 m above sea level. This mountain range is named after Colldejou village, located east of ...
and the mountain ranges of Serra de Llaberia and
Serra de Santa Marina Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil *Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Ampar ...
. The climate is continental: dry and hot in summer, cold in the winter.


Municipalities


References


External links

*
Tourism office website
{{Coord, 41, 08, N, 0, 49, E, type:adm2nd_source:cawiki, display=title Comarques of the Province of Tarragona