Cardona, Spain

Cardona is a town in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona; about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the city of Barcelona, on a hill almost surrounded by the river Cardener, a branch of the Llobregat. To the east of the town, the river has been diverted through a tunnel has been dug through a spur, leaving a loop of dry river bed near the saltmine.

Rock salt mine in Cardona
Cardona
Municipality
Cardona from the air
Coat of arms
Cardona
Location in Catalonia
Cardona
Cardona (Spain)
Coordinates: 41°54′49″N 1°40′50″E
CountrySpain
Community Catalonia
ProvinceBarcelona
ComarcaBages
Government
 • MayorFerran Estruch Torrents (2015)[1]
Area
 • Total66.7 km2 (25.8 sq mi)
Elevation
506 m (1,660 ft)
Population
 (2018)[3]
 • Total4,652
 • Density70/km2 (180/sq mi)
Websitewww.cardona.cat

Near the town is an extensive deposit of rock salt. The salt forms a mountain mass (called Muntanya de Sal) covered by a thick bed of a reddish-brown clay, and apparently resting on a yellowish-grey sandstone. It is generally more or less translucent, and large masses of it are quite transparent. The hill has been worked like a mine since Roman times; pieces cut from it have been carved by artists in Cardona into images, crucifixes and many articles of an ornamental kind.

Main sights
  • The Castle of Cardona, which is set high on a hill and contains a Parador hotel.
  • The 11th-century Romanesque Church of St. Vincenç.
  • The Church of Sant Miquel, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 14th century in Gothic style. It houses a precious polyptych by Pere Vall, depicting St. Anne, the Virgin and St. Amador, and a 15th-century baptismal font.


Panoramic view of the village, from near the castle

Local festivals
  • Caramelles: The Sunday of Passover
  • Mercat de la ganga: The first Sunday of February
  • Fira de Pentecostés: The first Sunday of June
  • Fira de la Llenega: The last Sunday of October
  • Festa Major: The second last weekend in September
  • Aplec de Cardona:[4] 18 September

Notes

The movie Chimes at Midnight, by Orson Welles, was filmed at the castle in Cardona.

Twin towns

Bibliography
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cardona". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  • Pedrosa, Andreu (2001). The Castle of Cardona. Sant Vincenç de Castellet: Farell. ISBN 84-930418-8-2
  • Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish). ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).

References
  1. "Ajuntament de Cardona". Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. "El municipi en xifres: Cardona". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  3. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  4. "VIUREM LLIURES O MORTREM". Associació Cultural 18 de setempbre. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
  5. General Consul of Uruguay in Barcelona (4 February 2010). "Hermanamiento Cardona Catalana y Uruguaya". Retrieved 7 May 2011.

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