Viver i Serrateix 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 go ...

in 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, ...

of Berguedà,

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 ...

. It comprises the towns of ''Viver'' and ''Serrateix'', as per the name.

History

Santa Maria de Serrateix Santa Maria de Serrateix is the Romanesque church of a former Benedictine abbey located on the BV-4235 road in Serrateix in the comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia. History The monastery dates to c. 940 when a group of monks settled in the area. Fr ...

was established in 940. Viver and Serrateix was formerly controlled by the

Barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

of Viver, who had their castle and seat in the town. The barons retained possession of the municipality's lands until the 17th century, when they sold it to the Rajadell family. The municipality was created when the two towns were united in the 19th century. Soon thereafter, the towns of ''Mondarn'' and ''Pujol de Planes'' were also added to the united municipality.

Culture

The current parochial church of the municipality is what was formerly the Monastery of Santa Maria de Serrateix. It is Romanesque in style, and contains one of its three original

apses In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

. The adjoining

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

is in the neoclassical style, and was constructed in the 18th century. At the center of the town of Viver is the Church of Sant Miquel, consecrated in 1187. The present building, however, dates from the 17th century, and is principally in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style, with late Gothic influences. Its

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

was built in 1798. The former Church of Sant Pere is currently in use as the town hall.

Economy

The principal occupation of the municipality's inhabitants is animal husbandry, and especially

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...

. Cereal cultivation is also widespread, especially of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, rye, and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

References

External links

Town website

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viver I Serrateix Municipalities in Berguedà