Ripoll () is the capital of the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) 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, ...

'' of Ripollès, in the province of Girona,

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, Spain. It is located on confluence of the

Ter River The Ter is a river in Catalonia, Spain, that rises at an approximate elevation of near the Ulldeter refuge at the foot of a glacial cirque delimited by the nearby peaks of el Bastiments, el Gra de Fajol, or el Pic de la Dona. It runs throug ...

and its tributary Freser, next to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

near the French border. The population was 11,057 in 2009. The first traces of humans inhabiting the area date from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

and can be seen in form of dolmens such as those found in ''El Sot de Dones Mortes'' or in ''Pardinella''. This area was later used by peoples from the Atlantic culture to store bronze weapons and as a passway from the Catalan Central Depression to the

. The area also has tombs from the late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

occupation age and some belonging to the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

. It has a famous

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery built in the Romanesque style,

Santa Maria de Ripoll The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renown ...

, founded by the count

Wilfred the Hairy {{Infobox noble, type , name = Wilfred , title = Count of Barcelona , image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53 , alt ...

in 879. The count used it as a centre to repopulate the region after conquering it. In the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

, its castle, the Castle of Saguardia, located in the county of Les Llosses was ruled by the Saguàrdia family, of which

Ponç de la Guàrdia Ponç de la Guàrdia (or Pons de la Guardia; fl. 1154–1188) was a Catalan knight of the family of Saguàrdia, lords of the castle of Ripoll. He was not a professional jongleur, but a troubadour who wrote songs for amusement which were much celebr ...

was a famous

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairi ...

. An abundance of coal and iron ore, coupled with the ample water supply of the rivers Ter and Freser, encouraged a metal-working industry in the early Middle Ages. The furnaces of Ripoll were a prime source of nails for the peninsula. Later, pole arms and crossbows, always in demand, were added to Ripoll's exports. Ripoll enjoyed a reputation throughout Europe for the production of firearms. That success as a manufactory of firearms brought frequent trouble to the city. French invasions in 1794, 1809, 1812, and 1813 crippled the city industries. However, the final and utter destruction of Ripoll, resulting from mines and blasting, occurred in 1839 during the Carlist Wars. Due to the loss of records and archives, not much is known of Ripoll and its industry to this day.

References

External links

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Government data pages

Ripoll, the cradle of Catalonia
{{Authority control Municipalities in Ripollès Populated places in Ripollès

See also

References

External links