Castellnou de Bages

Castellnou de Bages municipality
Castellnou de Bages - Església Sant Andreu
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Barcelona
Comarca :	Bages (comarca)
Coordinates	41 ° 50 ′  N , 1 ° 50 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 50 ′  N , 1 ° 50 ′  E
Height :	469  msnm
Area :	29.74 km²
Residents :	1,397 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	46.97 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	08251
Municipality number  ( INE ):	08062
administration
Official language :	Castilian , Catalan
Website :	Castellnou de Bages

Castellnou de Bages is a place and a municipality ( municipi ) with 1,397 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous region of Catalonia . It is in the comarca of Bages .

location

The place Castellnou de Bages lies at an altitude of about 470  m above sea level. d. M. The city of Manresa is located about 17 kilometers (driving distance) south and the provincial capital Barcelona is about 80 kilometers south. The municipality includes a total of five places or hamlets.

Population development

year	1960	1970	1981	1990	2000	2014
Residents	118	81	88	169	526	1,241

In the 19th century the community usually had between 250 and 400 inhabitants; the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture led to a population decline to the lows of the 1970s and 1980s. The designation of new development areas and the relative proximity to the city of Manresa have contributed to the enormous population increase in recent years.

economy

Above all, agriculture (grain, sunflowers, etc.), but also keeping cattle and poultry in stalls, form the livelihood of the inhabitants. Since the mid-1990s, smaller shops and craft businesses have been added.

history

The first mention of a castle ( Castell del Buc ) dates back to 952; however, it was destroyed by Almansor's troops in 999 . For the first time in 1001 there is talk of a new castle ( Castellnou ), around which the present-day town gradually developed, which first belonged to the county of Barcelona and later to the diocese of Vic .

Attractions

• The parish church of Sant Andreu is a jewel of Romanesque architecture in Catalonia. Its date is unclear - due to its geographical and stylistic proximity to the church of Sant Cugat del Racó , about ten kilometers to the north, the 11th century can be assumed. In any case, in the first half of the 12th century, Reverter de La Guardia , the then Vice Count of Barcelona, ​​handed the church over to the monastery of Sant Vicenç in Cardona ; to that extent it could have functioned as a priory church , at least for a time . The three-aisled church is characterized above all by its clear proportions and its building decor with round arch friezes in the Lombard architectural style ; the middle apse also shows a pilaster structure . The bell tower above the west side is an ingredient of the 16th or 17th century. The three naves are barrel vaulted; the apses have the usual dome vault .
• Immediately next to the church are the ruins of the 'new castle'.

Argençola

• The small church of Santa Margarida de Viladepost is also of Romanesque origin.

literature

• Vicenç Buron: Esglésies Romàniques Catalanes. Artestudi Edicions, Barcelona 1977, pp. 83f, ISBN 84-85180-06-2 .

Web links

Commons : Castellnou de Bages  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Castellnou de Bages, Sant Andreu church - photos + info (catalan)
• Castellnou de Bages, Church of Sant Andreu - photo + info (Wikipedia, 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).