Santa Coloma de Queralt is a

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 ...

in the ''comarca'' of the

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 Mo ...

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 no ...

, Spain. It is situated in the north-east of the ''comarca'' about from the city of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

. The town is linked to the rest of the ''comarca'' and to

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 th ...

by the C-241 road.

History

In 976, Borrell II, Count of Barcelona, sold the castle of Queralt and the surrounding area to Viscount Guitart, and by 1018, castles had been built at Santa Coloma and other strategic locations. The Gurb-Queralt family established a barony and remained in control of the area for the next two centuries. By the end of the thirteenth century, Santa Coloma de Queralt was an important regional centre, serving as a market town that linked the local community and their need for commercial goods brought from other parts of the Mediterranean with the outside world. These commercial activities attracted Jews, so that by the early fourteenth century, of the one hundred and fifty houses in the town, fifty were occupied by Jewish families. The Catalan Revolt in the mid-seventeenth century came about as a result of the continuing presence in Catalonia of Spanish troops during the Franco-Spanish War between the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

and the Monarchy of Spain.

Dalmau de Queralt, Count of Santa Coloma Dalmau de Queralt i de Codina, Count of Santa Coloma (; died 7 June 1640, Barcelona), was a Catalan noble, viceroy of Catalonia between 1638 and 1640, who was assassinated by Catalan rebels at the beginning of the Catalan Revolt. Biography Dal ...

, who was the Spanish viceroy of Catalonia at the time, was assassinated by the rebels near the beginning of the revolt. After the war, the town returned to the control of the Queralt family.

Tourism

Santa Coloma de Queralt is a historic town. Some of the main points of interest are the four

medieval 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 ...

gateways that formed part of the walls that used to surround the old town. There are also the remains of the Castles d'Aguiló and Queralt, and the Palace of the Counts of Queralt is an imposing edifice. There are two squares surrounded by

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

ed buildings, the Plaça Major and the Plaça de l’Església. The Casa de la Villa now houses the town hall, and the Jewish neighbourhood has small twisting streets. The

Gothic church Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

of Santa Coloma was built in the 14th century. The Church of ''Santa Maria de Bell-lloc'' dates to the 13th and 14th century. It is built in Gothic style but with a Romanesque portal. It houses the alabaster sepulchre of the Counts of Queralt which dates from 1370.

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 website

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Coloma De Queralt Municipalities in Conca de Barberà