Rubió () is a rural

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the ''comarca'' of

Anoia Anoia () is a comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. It is mainly located in the Penedès region, with its northern section being in Central Catalonia. The comarca of Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; ...

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. Its administrative centre is the village of Rubió, and other villages include Maçana and

El Pla de Rubió EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

. As of 2014, the municipality had 228 inhabitants. At it is one of the largest municipalities of the Alta Segarra, and at one time was the most sparsely populated.

Overview

In 1840, the old municipality of Maçana annexed Rubió to increase its population; the municipal limits remain unchanged from then on. Two theories exist about the origin of the toponym Rubió. One holds that it derives from ''rubeus'' (coppery), possibly alluding to the red colour of the land and the rocks of the mountain on which was built the Castell de Rubió. According to the second, Rubió derives from the Latin ''rufus'' (blond) through the name Rubione, a local landowner in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, granted on 12 February 1996, has on the inferior part a

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

castle with a ''

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

'' in the centre. At the top is a

mural crown A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...

of the village. The castle refers to the ruined Castell de Rubió.

Churches

Rubió, part of the diocese of

Vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...

, has five churches:Informative label of the Deputation of Barcelona to the El Pla de Rubió (photo) *Santa Anna Chapel in Maçana, built in the 15th century *Santa Maria de Rubió Church in Rubió, built in 1275 *Sant Martí de Maçana Church in Maçana, built in the 10th century *Sant Pere d'Ardesa Church in Rubió, built in the 11th century *Sant Macari Church in El Pla de Rubió, built in 1198

Geography

Rubió is northeast of the ''comarca'' of

, near the geographic centre of

. The municipality adjoins the municipalities of

Aguilar de Segarra Aguilar de Segarra () is a municipality in the comarca of Bages, on the eastern edge of the comarca, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Aguilar de Segarra has several notable buildings: the Castle A castle is a type of fortif ...

(

Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. The capital is the city of Manresa. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Car ...

Castellfollit del Boix Castellfollit del Boix () is a village in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of A ...

(

Òdena Òdena () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Barcelona province, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the centre of the Òdena Basin, on the side of a small hill. The remains of Òdena castle with its octagonal tower are at th ...

Jorba Jorba () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in 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, St ...

Copons Copons () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia, Spain. Transportation Copons can be accessed from C142a not far from A2 linking Lleida with Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain ...

and

Els Prats de Rei Els Prats de Rei () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia ...

. It is at the centre of the

Serra de Rubió The Serra de Rubió is a mountain range located in Catalonia, Spain, between the ''comarques'' of Anoia and Bages, and among the municipalities of Rubió, Castellfollit del Boix, Òdena and Els Prats de Rei. Its highest peak is the Còpia de Palom ...

, whose highest peak is the

Còpia de Palomes The Còpia de Palomes is a mountain located in Catalonia, Spain. It has an elevation of . It is situated between the municipalities of Rubió and Òdena, in the ''comarca'' of the Anoia, province of Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on th ...

. North of the Serra de Rubió is the Maçana River, a tributary of the

Llobregat The Llobregat () is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain, after the Ter. It flows into the Mediterranean south of the city of Barcelona. Its name could have originated in an ancient Latin word meaning 'dark', 'muddy' or 'slippery', or ...

. The Rubió river, also a tributary of the Llobregat, rises south of the mountains.

Wildlife

Seventy percent of the municipality is forested, primarily by the ''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

'', the ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica ...

'' and the

Scots Pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-gr ...

''(Pinus sylvestris)''. Fauna includes the

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

(''Sus scrofa''), the

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Oryctolagus''. The European rab ...

(''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') and

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

(''Cervus elaphus'' and ''Capreolus capreolus'').

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

s are also numerous.

Climate

Rubió has a Mediterranean

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, with hot summers (+35 °C) and cold winters (-10 °C).

Snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

, frost and fog are common in winter. Summer droughts may last for two months. Spring and fall are somewhat rainy, and the annual average precipitation is .

Wind farm

The Rubió

wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...

, Catalonia's largest, consists of 50 windmills which can produce energy for 30,000 homes. The wind farm, installed in fall 2004 and operational in spring 2005. serves Rubió (Anoia) and part of

(

) and

(Anoia).

History

Human habitation has been found in the region since the

Copper Age The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in dif ...

. A megalithic burial site and a Roman village have been found. During the 14th century the village was affected by plague and poor harvests, and many people moved to the cities and other villages. At the beginning of the 19th century, during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, the Serra de Rubió was a strategic point for the

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality and capital of Anoia county in Penedès, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central ...

n resistance.

Demographics

In 2014, Rubió had 220 inhabitants and was one of the most sparsely populated municipalities in

. Most residents are seasonal and engage in agriculture.

Politics and government

Rubió is governed by the

Convergència i Unió Convergence and Union (, CiU; ) was a Catalan nationalist electoral alliance in Catalonia, Spain. It was a federation of two constituent parties, the larger Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and its smaller counterpart, the Democratic Un ...

(CiU). The mayor is Francesc Miquel Archela Gil, and the city council has four other members.

Transport

Rubió is accessible by the C-1412, BV-1031 and BV-1037 roads and the A-2 motorway. Public transport does not reach the town, and the nearest bus station is in

References

External links

*
Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio Municipalities in Anoia