Talamanca (Bages)

Talamanca municipality
Talamanca - Castell
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Catalonia
Province :	Barcelona
Comarca :	Bages
Coordinates	41 ° 44 ′  N , 1 ° 59 ′  E Coordinates: 41 ° 44 ′  N , 1 ° 59 ′  E
Height :	552  msnm
Area :	29.3 km²
Residents :	206 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.03 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	08278
Municipality number  ( INE ):	08277
administration
Website :	www.talamanca.diba.es

Talamanca is a place and a municipality ( municipi ) with 206 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the Comarca Bages in the province of Barcelona in the autonomous region of Catalonia .

location

The place Talamanca is at an altitude of about 550 meters above sea level. d. M. in the middle of a natural park ( Parque natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac ) about 63 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of Barcelona or about 20 kilometers east of Manresa .

Population development

year	1960	1970	1981	1990	2000	2010
Residents	104	143	60	76	107	143

In the middle of the 19th century the community had well over 500 inhabitants, but the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture led to a lasting loss of jobs and the migration of people to the surrounding cities.

economy

In the past, the inhabitants lived mainly as a self-sufficient living from agriculture , which also included growing wine and keeping cattle . In the 19th century, the Pla de Bages region developed into an important wine-growing region , but the communities were particularly hard hit by the phylloxera crisis . Today agriculture is primarily done again ; in addition, the cultivation of wine and olives play an important role again. Since the 1960s, the rental of holiday homes ( cases rurals ) has been added as a source of income; and the hiking and wine tourism bring some money into the municipal treasury.

history

Archaeological finds prove the existence of an Iberian rampart, but no finds have been made from Roman , Visigothic or Islamic times. The place Talamanca is first mentioned in a document from the year 960, when the reconquest ( reconquista ) and repopulation ( repoblación ) of the nearly depopulated area under Borrell of Osona and Wilfried I of Barcelona had already been completed. To protect the settlers and as a bulwark against a possible re-advance of Islam castles (were everywhere Castells ) built. The further history of the place saw different landlords . On August 13 and 14, 1714, the Battle of Talamanca took place in the area - a military conflict between Bourbon and Habsburg units in the final phase of the War of the Spanish Succession .

Attractions

Església de Santa Maria

Wine press vats from Tres Salts

• The well-existent in the 10th century castle ( castell ) was rebuilt in the 12th century and - as some Catalan castles - in the early 18th century on the orders of the Spanish King Philip V destroyed. After the turn of the millennium, excavations and restoration work took place; the castle now serves as a small regional museum.
• The parish church ( Església de Santa Maria ) is mentioned in a document as early as 1038, but the original single-nave building today dates largely from the 12th century; However, it was rebuilt in the 18th century to a three-nave church with a basilica floor plan. The Romanesque apse with its round arch frieze and the medieval west portal with a braided archivolte were preserved. Inside is the sarcophagus of the landlord Berenguer de Talamanca († 1325).
• About three kilometers outside of the village are the ruins of the Romanesque Capella de Santa Magdalena .
• The most original buildings in the municipality are several wine press vats ( tines or lagares ) from the early 19th century. These silo-like buildings, which look rustic and ancient on the outside, are lined with large earthenware tiles up to about half their height on the inside . They date from the time before the phylloxera crisis , were in the middle of the vineyards and were used for the rapid processing (pressing and fermentation) of the grapes that were picked.

literature

• Vicenç Buron: Esglésies Romàniques Catalanes. Artestudi Edicions, Barcelona 1977, p. 91, ISBN 84-85180-06-2 .

Web links

Commons : Talamanca (Bages)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Talamanca, Church - Photos + Info (Catalan)
• Press vats in the vineyards, history and functionality - photos + information (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).