Berguedà () is an inland

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) 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, mark ...

in the central region of

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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It lies partly in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

and

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slope ...

, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga de ...

Geography

The northern half of Berguedà, known as ''Alt Berguedà'' (“Upper Berguedà”), consists of the upper

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', 'muddy' or 'slippery', or ...

Valley and the mountainous areas surrounding it. Its northern border is a veritable mountain barrier: Berguedà is separated from

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

by a chain of 2,000-meter peaks. These include the mountain ranges of Cadí, Moixeró, Puig d' Alp and Puigllançada. In this area the population is centered mainly in the Llobregat Valley and the valleys of the rivers

Bagà Bagà () is a Spanish municipality located in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia. Traditionally, Bagà is considered the capital of ''Alt Berguedà'', the mountainous northern half of the comarca. Location Bagà is lo ...

, Bastareny and Saldes. To the east are the mountain ranges of Catllaràs and Rasos de Tubau, to the west the high ranges of Pedraforca, Verd, Ensija and Rasos de Peguera. The more populous ''Baix Berguedà'' ("Lower Berguedà") is the southern part of the comarca. It lies along the foothills of the

, transitioning into the plains of the Catalan Central Depression. In addition to towns of medieval origin such as Gironella, Casserres, or

Puig-reig ; ) is a municipality and town in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia. As of 2009, the town had a population of 4,403. Atop a hill overlooking the Llobregat River, the town includes two medieval fortresses, as well as numer ...

, it includes a large number of industrial colonies built along the Llobregat river after the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

Climate

Alt Berguedà is

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

y and (by Catalan standards) cold, with

snow Snow consists of 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 througho ...

in the winter on the higher peaks. Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

exceeds 1000 mm (40 inches), mostly in the warmer seasons. The vegetation consists mainly of forests of

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red 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-gr ...

and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. Shadier areas have

European beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large ...

and, less often,

silver fir Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to: *''Abies alba'', native to Europe *''Abies amabilis'', native to western North America *''Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is ...

. Above 1700 meters,

Mountain Pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

dominates and above 2200 meters the vegetation consists primarily of alpine meadows. The southern half of Berguedà consists of lower valleys, with a dry

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

climate. Average annual precipitation is 700 to 900 mm (28 to 36 inches), with very little precipitation in the summer. Average annual temperatures fall between 11 and 13 °C, with cold winters, but without excessively hot summers. The naturally occurring vegetation is ''carrascara'' ( round-leafed oak, ''Quercus ilex'' subsp. ''rotundifolia'') in dry areas with poor

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

and oaks where there is better soil and more rain. In the center and to the west, Portuguese oak (''Quercus faginea'') dominates, to the west and north downy oak (''Quercus pubescens'', syn. ''Q. humilis''). Nowadays, these are intermixed with Scots pine and

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

Population and economy

Berguedà has always been sparsely populated. In 1860 there were 31,544 inhabitants, but by 1887 the population had fallen to a low of 23,257. The 1900 census showed a slight rebound to 27,217 inhabitants. For the next 60 years, growing opportunities in

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, cattle ranching, and agriculture led to a slow but steady increase, with 39,600 inhabitants in 1930, 41,938 in 1950 and 47,953 in 1960. Then, with a decline in the local economy (especially a fall-off in mining) coinciding with greater opportunity elsewhere, another decline of the economy and population set in, with the population falling to 44,446 in 1970, 42,152 in 1981, and a mere 40,555 today. Currently, industrial activity is located mainly in between

and

. The opening of the Cadí Tunnel and the general improvement of the roads in recent () years may improve the economic potential of the Llobregat Valley and of Berguedà in general. Agriculture, cattle ranching and forestry have proven generally complementary to one another and compatible with

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. The growth in tourism has provided some jobs and has been a key factor in reducing emigration from Alt Berguedà. Many farmhouses have been converted (in whole or in part) to tourism-related uses. The current Berguedà population as of 2019 is 44,632 people.

Main sights

Berguedà is well known for Pedraforca Mountain (traditionally considered a meeting place for witches' covens), for its pastoral and mountain scenery, and for its many Romanesque churches. Another oft-visited sight is the Mountain of Queralt (home to a sanctuary housing the Comarca's patroness, Our Lady of Queralt), which is served by many hiking trails and offers views of much of Berguedà and the surrounding comarques. The comarca also boasts many medieval bridges and has preserved many old town centers, most notably those of Berga and Bagà.

Events

Berguedà is well known for its many traditional festivals. The most famous is certainly the ''Patum'', a week-long celebration held in

every summer. During the Patum, representations of different mythological beasts and historical figures take to the streets, and concerts and banquets are also organized in the town. Another well-known celebration is the Fia-faia, held every

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

and Sant Julià de Cerdanyola. This pre-Christian tradition marks the winter solstice, with participants carrying lighted bundles of ''Cephalaria leucanta'' from a bonfire in the mountains to the west of either town (where the sun is seen to set) to the main square. File:Patum.jpg, The Patum de Berga File:Gironella_nit.jpg, The town of Gironella File:Bagà plaza porticada.jpg, Medieval week in

File:Sant quirze pedret-pont medieval.jpg, Medieval bridge of Pedret File:Sant vicenç de rus-pintures.jpg, Paintings in the Romanesque church of Sant Vicenç de Rus File:Sant quirze pedret-exterior.jpg, Romanesque church of Sant Quirze de Pedret File:Cercs.jpg, The town of Cercs

Municipalities

References

External links

*
Information about Berguedà
on the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

website.
Berguedà County Tourist information

"Berguedà Actual" - local news site covering Berguedà
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergueda Comarques of the Province of Barcelona Pyrenees