Montblanc, Tarragona

Montblanc
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms
Montblanc Location in Catalonia
Coordinates: 41°22′38″N 1°9′50″E / 41.37722°N 1.16389°E / 41.37722; 1.16389Coordinates: 41°22′38″N 1°9′50″E / 41.37722°N 1.16389°E / 41.37722; 1.16389
Country	Spain
Community	Catalonia
Province	Tarragona
Comarca	Conca de Barberà
Government
– Mayor	Josep Andreu Domingo
Area
– Total	91.11 km2 (35.2 sq mi)
Elevation	350 m (1,148 ft)
Population (2010)
– Total	7,382
– Density	81/km2 (209.8/sq mi)
Demonym	Montblanquí
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	Official website

One of the medieval buildings in Montblanc

Barroque entrance of the church of Santa Maria

Montblanc (Catalan pronunciation: [mumˈbɫaŋ]) s the capital of the Catalan comarca Conca de Barberà, in the Spanish province of Tarragona.

The Prades Mountains are located in the vicinity of this municipality.

History

The area around Montblanc has been inhabited for thousands of years. Evidence of cave dwellings have been found dating back to Palaeolithic times.

From the 4th to the 1st century BC Iberian villages existed on Santa Bàrbara hill. These villages coexisted with the early Roman settlers. Evidence of Roman artifacts have been found which date from between the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD.

After the invasion by the Moors in 711 AD, much of the area became dominated by a patchwork of Islamic fiefdoms. The Islamic invasion initiated a long period of very successful agricultural and commercial development. This was responsible for the birth of many towns and villages in the region which still retain their Islamic names.

The 10th and 11th centuries seem to have been a period of relatively peaceful coexistence in which Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in the region of Montblanc. This productive period continued until an allegiance of forces, strongly supported by the Roman Catholic Church, initiated an era of expulsions, which forced the Moors, the Jews and many of the interbred mixed race peoples to leave the Iberian peninsula.

Maties Palau Ferré (1921-2000), painter and sculptor, disciple of Pablo Picasso, was born and died in Montblanc.

Main sights

• Convent of Sant Francesc, established around 1238. The church is in Romanesque-Gothic style.
• Gothic church of Santa Maria (14th century)
• Church of Sant Miquel

Twin towns

• Montblanc, France

External links

• Official website (Catalan)
• Virtual Tour of Montblanc
• Information - Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan)
• Statistical information - Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya (Catalan)
• Montblanc Medieval (Catalan)