Argelaguer

Argelaguer municipality
Argelaguer - Church of Santa Maria
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Girona
Comarca :	Garrotxa
Coordinates	42 ° 13 '  N , 2 ° 38'  E Coordinates: 42 ° 13 '  N , 2 ° 38'  E
Height :	183  msnm
Area :	12.72 km²
Residents :	397 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	31.21 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	17853
Municipality number  ( INE ):	17010
administration
Website :	webspobles.ddgi.cat/sites/argelaguer/default.aspx

Argelaguer is a place and a municipality ( municipi ) with 397 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Girona in the autonomous region of Catalonia .

location

Argelaguer is located in a wooded area on the north bank of the Río Fluvià at the foot of the Spanish Pyrenees . The at a height of about 180 meters above sea level. d. M. is located about 38 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of Girona or about 30 kilometers west of Figueres . The listed medieval town of Besalú is only about five kilometers south-east.

Population development

year	1960	1970	1981	1990	2000	2006
Residents	565	464	360	349	379	418

In the 19th century the community had over 1,000 inhabitants at times. The phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the progressive mechanization of agriculture have since led to a significant decline in the population.

economy

In the past, the inhabitants lived mainly as a self-sufficient living from agriculture , which also included growing wine and keeping cattle. In addition, the place guarded by a castle ( castell ) served as an artisanal and mercantile center of several villages and hamlets in the area.

history

The place name appears for the first time in a document from the year 982.

Attractions

• Both the apse and the western facade of the - mostly of rubble built - Romanesque parish church ( Esglesia Santa Maria ) are completely unarticulated and unadorned. The church building was redesigned in the 16th century: The portal of the west facade with its two set columns is made of light limestone; In the tympanum field there is a shell ornament, which is covered by profiled arches. The upper floor of the almost free-standing bell tower ( campanar ) on the south side and the sacristy on the north side also seem to be later additions.
• The single-nave chapel of Santa Anna dates from the 15th century, despite the rubble stone used.
• The now privately owned residential tower of Castell d'Argelaguer belongs to the same period .
• Outside the village, Josep Pujiula, born in 1937, built a fantasy garden ( laberint ) out of stone, wooden scaffolding and plants.

literature

• Vicenç Buron: Esglésies Romàniques Catalanes. Artestudi Edicions, Barcelona 1977, ISBN 84-85180-06-2 , p. 162.

Web links

Commons : Argelaguer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Argelaguer, Labyrinth - Photos + Info (English)
• Argelaguer, Labyrinth - Photos + Info (English)

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).