Balaguer () is the capital of the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of Noguera, in the province of

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

. The municipality includes an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city in the western United States,

Pacifica, California Pacifica (, meaning "Peaceful") is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay, California, Half Moon Bay. Overview The City of Pacifica is spread along a stretch of sandy c ...

. It has a population of . Balaguer was conquered from the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

Ermengol VI of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol VI (10961154), called el de Castilla ("the one from Castile"), was the count of Urgell from 1102 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ermengol V and María Pérez, daughter of Count Pedro Ansúrez, Lord of Vall ...

in 1106; he made it his new capital, and it remained so for subsequent counts of Urgell. A

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community existed in Balaguer from the 11th century to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. The town has a Gothic bridge, the "Pont de Sant Miquel", over the Segre river. This bridge was destroyed during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

in the battle of "Cap de Pont" when

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

's forces first entered Catalonia from Aragon in 1938 through Balaguer's bridgehead. The historic town is on the right bank of the Segre but, following the war, construction began on a modern bridge, which initiated development of a modern extension of the town on the left bank. Another Gothic building is the Santa Maria Church, in the heights above the city, in line with a quite finely conserved wall dating to the 15th century AD. The historic mansion Palauet de la muralla de Balaguer, converted to a hotel, is located in the city center and part of the old city wall forms the back of the building.

Culture

Music

* Hot Numbers (1996), a musical fusion band

Notable natives

*Josep Ivan Argelaga, performance artists "dogman" *

Gaspar de Portolà Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname). It is a name of christian origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the three wise men mentioned in the Armenian ...

, founder of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

(United States) and

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

(United States). *

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

, King of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. * Antoni Torres García, footballer *Xavier Sánchez Bernat, basketball player * Roberto Martínez, former footballer and football manager of the Portuguese national football team * Teresa Pàmies, writer, political activist and mother of Sergi Pàmies. * Felipe Cardeña, artist * Josep Pàmies, pagès, entrepreneur and activist *

James II, Count of Urgell James II (in Catalan language, Catalan ''Jaume II d'Urgell'' or ''Jaume el Dissortat'' ("James the unlucky"), in Spanish ''Jaime II el desafortunado'') (1380 – 1 June 1433) was the Count of Urgell (1408–1413), Viscount of Àger, and lord of An ...

, royal Count

References

*Palomero, Aaron Gutiérrez
"Planificación urbana y vivienda obrera en Balaguer (1939 – 1962). Ocupación del margen izquierdo"
''Scripta Nova: Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales'', Vol. VII, núm. 146(025), 1 de agosto de 2003.

External links

Official municipal web site

Government data pages
Municipalities in Noguera (comarca) Populated places in Noguera (comarca) {{Lleida-geo-stub

Culture

Music

Notable natives

See also

References

External links