Alpens

Alpens municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Barcelona
Comarca :	Osona
Coordinates	42 ° 7 '  N , 2 ° 6'  E Coordinates: 42 ° 7 '  N , 2 ° 6'  E
Height :	855  msnm
Area :	13.8 km²
Residents :	266 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	19.28 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	08587
Municipality number  ( INE ):	08004
administration
Official language :	Catalan
Mayor :	Dª Montserrat Barniol Carcasona (GA-AM)
Website :	www.alpens.cat
Location of the municipality

Alpens is a Catalan municipality in the comarca of Osona in the province of Barcelona on the edge of the Pyrenees .

location

The municipality borders on Berguedà to the west and Ripoll ( province of Girona ) to the north and is around 105 km from the Catalan capital Barcelona and 35 km from the capital Vic of the Comarca Osona. The area of ​​the municipality of Alpens is mountainous with numerous beech and pine forests . In the northwest, the place borders on the Puigcornador (1228 meters) and the Santa Margarida de Vinyoles (1208 meters) mountain range .

history

Alpens is closely linked to the history of the Castell de la Guàrdia de Ripoll . The name of the municipality was first mentioned in a historical document from 1074, the year in which the feudal lords of Castell de la Guàrdia transferred the rights to the abbot Ramon de Savarrés. Until then, this area was under the jurisdiction of Ripoll.

The first documented information about the population, the so-called Alpensins , is recorded at the end of the 15th century. 15 families were mentioned in Alpens. In 1638 64 houses formed the core of the mountain village. The place continued to grow until the beginning of the 17th century. Pig, sheep and cattle breeding were important economic activities. In addition to the grain export, some small craft businesses were also founded. In 1638 a weavers' guild was established , the confraria gremial de paraires i teixidors (Brotherhood of the wool workers' and weavers' guild ), which, according to the church, took over the patronage of the parish church altar.

During the second half of the 20th century a factory was built in the village. It manufactured cotton fabrics and was closed in 1957. In the early 1960s, the textile industry recovered and, along with the food industry (primarily sausage production) and the wood industry, became an integral part of the small community's economy today.

Residents

Number of inhabitants
(source: IDESCAT )

year	1900	1930	1950	1970	1981	1990	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008
Residents	470	529	449	292	255	252	273	264	277	290	307	312

Attractions

• Church of Sant Pere de Serrallonga , in Romanesque style in the 10th century

Web links

Commons : Alpens  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information from l'Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya on idescat.es (Catalan)
• Alpens in: Enciclopèdia Catalana (Catalan)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).