Berga () 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 ...

'' (county) of

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

, in the

province of Barcelona Barcelona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .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 bordered by the municipalities of

Cercs Cercs () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Berguedà in Catalonia. It is situated on the right bank of the Llobregat river above the Baells reservoir. It is the site of an important power station which burns the lignite extracted at Fíg ...

Olvan Olvan () is a municipality in the comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia. It is made up of the town of Olvan and part of the former industrial colony of Cal Rosal, on the Llobregat river. Economy The most important industry in Olvan is agriculture, espe ...

Avià Avià () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Berguedà, in Catalonia. Its population in 2007 was 2108 inhabitants. The municipality is made up of three towns: ''Avià'', ''Graugés'' and ''La Plana''. Its economical activity is based on agr ...

Capolat Capolat () is a municipality in the comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia, Spain. The geography is mountainous, reaching 1500 meters about sea level. The population has always been sparsely settled due to the topography. As in much of the rest of the re ...

and

Castellar del Riu Castellar del Riu () is a municipality in the comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia, northern Spain. The municipal government is located at Llinars, which is not a village but just a few municipal buildings including a small sports centre. Economy The ...

History

Berga derives its name from the ''

Bergistani The Bergistani or Bargusii (), were an ancient Iberian or Pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula. They were related to the Ilergetes and were not numerous. They inhabited the valley of the Saiarra river in the upper course of the Llobregat in ...

,'' an

Iberian Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

tribe which lived in the area before the

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

conquest. The Bergistani were first subdued by

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

in 218 BC. They rebelled twice against the Romans and were twice defeated; after their second uprising, much of the tribe was sold into slavery.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

mentions their principal town, ', which was probably the precursor of the present-day town of Berga. Berga was ruled by

viscounts A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is so ...

in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

and had its own counts from 988. Berga was sold to king

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon, Sancha ...

in 1199. In May 2012, the town council passed a motion declaring

King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

'persona non grata' following a series of scandals involving the royal family, most notably the king's recent elephant hunting trip to Africa in the middle of Spain's deepening recession.

La Patum

The Patum de Berga, or simply La Patum, is a popular and traditional festival that is celebrated each year in the city. Locals dress as mystical and symbolic figures, and are accompanied either by the rhythm of a drum (the tabal, whose sound gives the festival its name) or band music.

Free Software Street

On July 3, 2010 the world's first

Free Software Street Free Software Street () is a street in the town of Berga in Catalonia, Spain. It is the first street in the world dedicated to the free software movement. It was officially opened on 3 July 2010. The street is about long and is located in a new ...

was inaugurated in Berga, during a ceremony attended by

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman ( ; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...

Sister cities

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

, Basque Country, Spain *

Tarascon-sur-Ariège Tarascon-sur-Ariège (, literally ''Tarascon on Ariège''; Languedocien: ''Tarascon d’Arièja'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Tarascon-sur-Ariège station has rail connections to Toulouse, Foix and Lato ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Högsby Högsby is a locality and the seat of Högsby Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 1,881 inhabitants in 2010. Other towns in the Högsby Municipality are Långemåla, Fågelfors, Berga and Fagerhult, of which Långemåla is probably the smal ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Vänorter

Notable people

* Alfonsina Bueno * Antonio Comellas y Cluet *

José Cunill Postius José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

References

External links

*
Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Berguedà Populated places in Berguedà