Blancafort () is a municipality in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

and the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

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 has a population of .

History

Blancafort was first mentioned in 1207 census documents in which a castle in the name of Pere Romeu y de Fitor Arnau was noted. Blancafort was part of the Dukedom of Montblanc. It was fortified in the fourteenth century. During the

War of Succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...

it declared itself in favor of the

Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...

so it was attacked by

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Sp ...

's troops. After the war, it was integrated into the township of

. During the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

it was looted by troops commanded by the French General,

Louis Gabriel Suchet Louis-Gabriel Suchet, duc d' Albuféra (; 2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded as one of the greatest ...

Culture

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Magdalene and was built on the remains of the ancient Roman temple. It is of ample proportions and of a late

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style. It consists of a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and a barrel vault cover. The façade is neoclassical. In the old cemetery attached to the temple there is an outstanding collection of preserved tombstones which are today on display in the Diocesan Museum of Tarragona. The town retains many houses built in the late eighteenth century. Among them is the Can Minguella, better known as the Can Cavaller, from the seventeenth century. The façade shows the family coat of arms. Nothing remains of the old castle except a topographical reference in the street name ''del Castell.'' Blancafort's main festival takes place on the fourth Sunday of August, although for the entire month of August there are activities for people of different ages. Since 1483, there is also a tradition of walking up to the Sanctuary of Tallat, also done during the month of August.

References

External links

*
Government data pages
Municipalities in Conca de Barberà {{Tarragona-geo-stub