Berga

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

Flag

Coat of arms
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

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.