Castellbell i el Vilar
Encyclopedia
Castellbell i el Vilar is a municipality
in the comarca
of the Bages
in
Catalonia
, Spain
. It is situated at the point where the Llobregat
river crosses the Prelittoral Range.
The railway station serves both the FGC
line R5 between Barcelona
and
Manresa
and the RENFE
line between Barcelona and Zaragoza
. The C-1411 road links the municipality with
Martorell
and Manresa.
Castellbell i el Vilar is known for its cotton
industry, although agriculture is at least as important to the local
economy. Castellbell castle (gothic, fourteenth century) was one of the two main points
(along with Claramunt castle) controlling access to the lower Llobregat valley, and hence to Barcelona. The bridge over
the Llobregat also dates from the fourteenth century.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the comarca
Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
of the Bages
Bages
Bages is a comarca in the center of Catalonia, Spain. It includes two subcomarques, el Moianès and el Lluçanès.Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Cardener...
in
Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is situated at the point where the Llobregat
Llobregat
The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. It originates in Castellar de n'Hug at an altitude of 1,259 meters in the Serra del Cadí, and ends in the Mediterranean Sea, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona...
river crosses the Prelittoral Range.
The railway station serves both the FGC
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya , or FGC, is a railway company which operates several unconnected lines in Catalonia, Spain....
line R5 between Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and
Manresa
Manresa
Manresa is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographic centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged around the basilica of Santa María de la Seo....
and the RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
line between Barcelona and Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
. The C-1411 road links the municipality with
Martorell
Martorell
Martorell is a town near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Devil's bridge.It has three railway stations - one on the RENFE line from Manresa to Sant Vicenç de Calders called "Martorell", and three on the FGC line from Barcelona to Manresa called "Martorell-Vila",...
and Manresa.
Castellbell i el Vilar is known for its cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
industry, although agriculture is at least as important to the local
economy. Castellbell castle (gothic, fourteenth century) was one of the two main points
(along with Claramunt castle) controlling access to the lower Llobregat valley, and hence to Barcelona. The bridge over
the Llobregat also dates from the fourteenth century.