Olèrdola () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
''comarca'' of the
Alt Penedès 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 ...
, Spain. It is situated on the northern side of the
Garraf massif, and the highest point of the municipality is the ''
Puig de l'Àliga'' at 468 m.
Olèrdola castle controlled the area of the
Penedès Depression in the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
, reaching the height of its significance when its castle dominated the region under the control of the rebellious
Mir Geribert, "Prince of Olèrdola". Its importance declined from the twelfth century and its administrative role was taken by
Vilafranca del Penedès
Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca, is the capital of Alt Penedès county in Penedès, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Penedès Depression on the left bank of the Foix River, and on the main axis of communication from Barcel ...
. The territory has been inhabited since the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
period, and
Iberic and
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 ...
remains are juxtaposed with the ruins of the castle. The unusual, circular,
Roman chapel of the Sant Sepulcre is near La Plana Rodona.
Subdivisions
The name of the municipality is derived from the historical castle, not from any modern settlement. Six villages and two
industrial zones (''polígons industrials'') make up the municipality.
Population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
s are given as of 2005:
*Can Trabal (301)
*
Daltmar (353)
*Moja (1285)
*El Polígon Industrial de Sant Pere Molanta (12)
*El Polígon Industrial el Clot de Moja
*Sant Miquel d'Olèrdola (327)
*Sant Pere Molanta (552), in the north of the municipality
*Viladellops (34)
Demography
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:Olerdola
Municipalities in Alt Penedès