La Galera is a municipality in the comarca

Montsià Montsià () is the southernmost comarca (county) of Catalonia in Spain. Its capital and largest city is Amposta. History Almost all Montsià municipalities are part of the Taula del Sénia free association or mancomunitat (commonwealth). Munic ...

, in the province of Tarragona,

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. In 2009 its population was 884. La Galera is part of the

Taula del Sénia The Taula del Sénia () or Mancomunitat de la Taula del Sénia is a commonwealth or free association of municipalities made up of 22 towns, totalling up to 100,000 people, of some of the comarcas that make up the center of the historical region ...

free association of municipalities.

History

Although it has not been possible to prove it with documents, some historians believe that La Galera has an ancient Roman origin. However, the earliest documentary evidence about the town is in 1320 when

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Spanish: ''Jaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just,, an, Chaime lo Chusto, es, Jaime el Justo. was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He ...

authorized the control of the village known as ''Pobla de la Galera'' to the Arch

bishop of Tortosa The bishop of Tortosa is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tortosa in Catalonia, Spain.

. It is believed that the population had begun to establish itself here by 1303.

Main sights

The most famous building is the Tower of La Galera. It was built in 1340 as a watchtower and it was built by the residents of the town. It has a rectangular base and a considerable height. In 1684 the interior was converted into a parochial church, dedicated to Sant Llorenç. The reform of the temple was left in suspense during the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

, when the tower served as a military storehouse. The consecration of the new church took place on August 15, 1711.

Culture

During the 17th century,

potters A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas * Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jer ...

came to live in the town, which has become a local artisan tradition. The town has a museum that explains the manufacture of clay vessels. During the month of May there is a festival of pottery. La Galera celebrates its main festival in August.

Economy

The main economic activity is agriculture, particularly olives,

carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and lands ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

, and almonds.

References

*Tomàs Bonell, Jordi; ''Descobrir Catalunya, poble a poble'', Prensa Catalana, Barcelona, 1994
Article in the Catalan Encyclopedia

External links

General information

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galera, La Municipalities in Montsià Populated places in Montsià