Rubió is a rural

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the ''comarca'' of

Anoia Anoia () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. The comarca of l'Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; the leading industry is the making of paper. To the north are Solsonès an ...

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. Its administrative centre is the village of Rubió, and other villages include Maçana and El Pla de Rubió. As of 2014, the municipality had 228 inhabitants. At it is one of the largest municipalities of the Alta Segarra, and at one time was the most sparsely populated.

Overview

In 1840, the old municipality of Maçana annexed Rubió to increase its population; the municipal limits remain unchanged from then on. Two theories exist about the origin of the toponym Rubió. One holds that it derives from ''rubeus'' (coppery), possibly alluding to the red colour of the land and the rocks of the mountain on which was built the Castell de Rubió. According to the second, Rubió derives from the Latin ''rufus'' (blond) through the name Rubione, a local landowner in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, granted on 12 February 1996, has on the inferior part a

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

castle with a ''

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

'' in the centre. At the top is a

mural crown A mural crown ( la, corona muralis) is a crown or headpiece representing city walls, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the Romans a military decoration. Later th ...

of the village. The castle refers to the ruined Castell de Rubió.

Churches

Rubió, part of the diocese of

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): ...

, has five churches:Informative label of the Deputation of Barcelona to the El Pla de Rubió (photo) *Santa Anna Chapel in Maçana, built in the 15th century *Santa Maria de Rubió Church in Rubió, built in 1275 *Sant Martí de Maçana Church in Maçana, built in the 10th century *Sant Pere d'Ardesa Church in Rubió, built in the 11th century *Sant Macari Church in El Pla de Rubió, built in 1198

Geography

Rubió is northeast of the ''comarca'' of

, near the geographic centre of

. The municipality adjoins the municipalities of

Aguilar de Segarra Aguilar de Segarra is a municipality in the comarca of Bages, on the eastern edge of the comarca, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Aguilar de Segarra has several notable buildings: the Castle A castle is a type of fortified ...

(

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 Cardener ...

Castellfollit del Boix Castellfollit del Boix () is a village in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' ...

(

Òdena Òdena (Spanish: ''Ódena'') is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Barcelona province, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the centre of the Òdena Basin, on the side of a small hill. The remains of Òdena castle with its octagon ...

Jorba Jorba is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Aut ...

Copons Copons is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Au ...

and

Els Prats de Rei Els Prats de Rei is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Sta ...

. It is at the centre of the

Serra de Rubió The Serra de Rubió is a mountain range located in Catalonia, Spain, between the ''comarques'' of Anoia and Bages, and among the municipalities of Rubió, Castellfollit del Boix, Òdena and Els Prats de Rei. Its highest peak is the Còpia de Palom ...

, whose highest peak is the

Còpia de Palomes The Còpia de Palomes is a mountain located in Catalonia, Spain. It has an elevation of . It is situated between the municipalities of Rubió and Òdena, in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia, province of Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on t ...

. North of the Serra de Rubió is the Maçana River, a tributary of the

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 ...

. The Rubió river, also a tributary of the Llobregat, rises south of the mountains.

Wildlife

Seventy percent of the municipality is forested, primarily by the ''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

'', the ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as wel ...

'' and the

Scots Pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

''(Pinus sylvestris)''. Fauna includes the

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

(''Sus scrofa''), the

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

(''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

(''Cervus elaphus'' and ''Capreolus capreolus'').

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

s are also numerous.

Climate

Rubió has a Mediterranean

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

, with hot summers (+35 °C) and cold winters (-10 °C).

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

, frost and fog are common in winter. Summer droughts may last for two months. Spring and fall are somewhat rainy, and the annual average precipitation is .

Wind farm

The Rubió

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

, Catalonia's largest, consists of 50 windmills which can produce energy for 30,000 homes. The wind farm, installed in fall 2004 and operational in spring 2005. serves Rubió (Anoia) and part of

(

) and

(Anoia).

History

Human habitation has been found in the region since the

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

. A megalithic burial site and a Roman village have been found. During the 14th century the village was affected by

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

and poor harvests, and many people moved to the cities and other villages. At the beginning of the 19th century, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, the Serra de Rubió was a strategic point for the

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central market of the ...

n resistance.

Demographics

In 2014, Rubió had 220 inhabitants and was one of the most sparsely-populated municipalities in

. Most residents are seasonal and engage in agriculture.

Politics and government

Rubió is governed by the

Convergència i Unió Convergence and Union ( ca, Convergència i Unió, CiU; ) was a Catalan nationalist electoral alliance in Catalonia, Spain. It was a federation of two constituent parties, the larger Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and its smaller coun ...

(CiU). The mayor is Francesc Miquel Archela Gil, and the city council has four other members.

Transport

Rubió is accessible by the C-1412, BV-1031 and BV-1037 roads and the A-2 motorway. Public transport does not reach the town, and the nearest bus station is in

References

External links

*
Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio Municipalities in Anoia