Artés () is a Spanish town in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. The capital is the city of Manresa. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Car ...

comarca (county), in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Location

The town of Artés is located at the center of

, at the eastern edge of the plain zone of

Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. The capital is the city of Manresa. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Car ...

-commonly known as Pla de Bages. The town is in the basin of the Gavarresa river and of its affluent, the stream of Malrubí. It is bordered on the North by the towns of Sallent and

Avinyó Avinyó () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, located in the comarca of Bages, province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the ...

, in the South by Calders and it shares a small border in the West with Navarcles, on the limit of the Llobregat river. The town is near the Artés Formation, a unique geological formation that owes its name to its proximity with the town.

History

The name of Artés is believed to derive from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word '' Artium '', which means "fortified hill". This is based on the evidence of the existence of a 6th-century fortified church on the top of the hill of Artés, where the first settlers began to expand the village into the valley. Little evidence of the

Prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

of Artés has been discovered to date. However, a document from the year 938 indicates the presence of three dolmens; and abundant samples of Iberian pottery have been found in the valley of Salabernada. The archeological remains of the Classical Period are numerous and confirm the existence of continuous settlement for seven centuries. In particular, archeological finds have been made at Matacans, where there used to be a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

villa, and at the Plaça Vella (''Old Square'') where three Roman inscriptions of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, one

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

and an ancient Paleochristian Church -that can be dated between 6th and 7th centuries- were found. The name of Artés is one of the first documented names of all the towns in

. Specifically, a grant dated on 24 June 889, by which the King Odó gave to the Church of Sant Pere de Vic several goods and rights; among them de Valley of Artés.

Economy

At present, the most important activity of the town is industry, which counts on some important multinational companies established in the town. In 1973 the Industrial Zone of Santa Maria d'Artés was opened and in 1991 an important enlargement of it was made, even though it is now reaching its limit of usable ground. The Rossignol Skis Group produces Rossignol and Dynastar alpine skis and Rossignol nordic skis in Artés. Artés is also well known for its production of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

and cava. In 1996, together with other towns of the surrounding area, Artés achieved the Denomination of Origin Pla de Bages for its wines and, at the same time, it celebrated the tenth birthday of the denomination of the Cava of Artés.

References

External links

Official website

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artes Municipalities in Bages Populated places in Bages