Bigues i Riells

Bigues i Riells municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Barcelona
Comarca :	Vallès Oriental
Coordinates	41 ° 41 ′  N , 2 ° 13 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 41 ′  N , 2 ° 13 ′  E
Height :	307  msnm
Area :	28.15 km²
Residents :	9,092 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	322.98 inhabitants / km²
Municipality number  ( INE ):	08023
administration
Official language :	Castilian , Catalan
Mayor :	Elena Argemí i Morral
Website :	biguesiriells.cat

Bigues i Riells is a Catalan city ​​in the province of Barcelona in northeastern Spain . It is located in the comarca of Vallès Oriental .

location

Bigues i Riells is about 30 kilometers north of Barcelona in the Valley des Tenes .

history

The settlement area was part of the Barony of Montbui and became an independent municipality in 1857 with the merger of Bigues , Riells del Fai and Sant Mateu de Montbui . The first church was mentioned in 1059. The current church of Sant Pere dates from 1737.

politics

The 2007 local elections resulted in the following distribution of seats in the local council:

1. PSC-PM : 5 seats
2. CiU : 4 seats
3. Esquerra-AM : 2 seats
4. ICV - EUiA - EPM : 1 seat
5. PP : 1 seat

Economy and Transport

A large part of the hilly area consists of pine forests and pastures. Economic life is largely shaped by agriculture. Mainly grain, wine and olives are grown. In addition, sheep and cattle farming operation. There is a large slaughterhouse and medium-sized food and textile industries in the city.

Culture and sights

Former Benedictine monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai near Bigues i Riells

The former Benedictine monastery of Sant Miquel del Fai lies like an eagle's nest on a cliff. The monastery church built in a cave is the largest underground church in Spain.

The monastery was founded around the year 1000 by Gombau de Besoraden , the then lord of Montbui. In order to secure the existence of the monastery even after his death, he merged the Catalan monastery with the Saint-Victor monastery in Marseille .

The community always consisted of a few, usually five or six monks. In 1567 the monastery was closed and turned into a sanctuary, which was maintained by the surrounding villages. Today it is privately owned.

Web links

Commons : Bigues i Riells  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

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).
2. ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: http://municat.gencat.cat/index.php?page=consulta&mostraEns=0802350006&accio=eleccions# )