Berga

For other uses, see Berga (disambiguation).
Berga
Municipality

Flag
Coat of arms
Berga
Berga

Location in Catalonia

Coordinates: 42°06′04″N 1°50′38″E / 42.10111°N 1.84389°E / 42.10111; 1.84389
Province Barcelona
Comarca Berguedà
Government
 • Mayor Montse Venturós Villalba (2015)[1] (CUP)
Area[2]
 • Total 22.6 km2 (8.7 sq mi)
Elevation 704 m (2,310 ft)
Population (2014)[1]
 • Total 16,456
 • Density 730/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Berguedà
Website ajberga.cat

Berga (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈbeɾɣə]) is the capital of the comarca (county) of Berguedà, in Catalonia, northeast Spain.

History

Berga derives its name from the Bergistani, an Iberian tribe which lived in the area before the Roman conquest. The Bergistani were first subdued by Hannibal 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 mentions their principal town, Castrum Bergium, which was probably the precursor of the present-day town of Berga.[3]

Berga was ruled by viscounts in the Early Middle Ages and had its own counts from 988.

Berga was sold to king Peter II of Aragon in 1199.

In May, 2012, the town council passed a motion declaring King Juan Carlos '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.[4]

La Patum

Berga is perhaps most famous for its traditional festival of "La Patum", a celebration which occurs every Corpus Christi, lasting for five days.

Free Software Street

On July 3, 2010 the world's first Free Software Street was inaugurated in Berga, during a ceremony attended by Richard Stallman.[5]

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Ajuntament de Berga". Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. ↑ "El municipi en xifres: Berga". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  3. ↑ Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana vol. III, p. 466. Edicions 62. Barcelona, 1971
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  5. ↑ "Berga inaugura el primer carrer del món dedicat al programari lliure" (in Catalan). 324. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Vänorter Archived August 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

Castellar del Riu Cercs
Capolat
  Berga  
Avià Olvan
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.