Castellgalí () is a municipality in the south of the region of Bages, Catalonia, where the Cardener and Llobregat rivers meet, and contains the Boades archaeological site Cultural Asset of National Interest and the Torre del Breny, one of the most outstanding ancient Greek sites in Catalonia.
History Iberian period The first signs of population were found in Boades, which was initially an Iberian settlement between the 6th and 1st centuries BC. An Iberian settlement existed at Puig del Castel between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. The location of the settlement of Boades between the Llobregat and Cardener rivers allowed its inhabitants to farm successfully on the fertile land, which led to a surplus and export of cereals. There were also olive trees and vineyards. The terrain was also favorable for hunting. The settlement was located in the area of Cal Roc near a meander of the Llobregat.
Roman period With the arrival of the Romans, the Iberian settlement of Puig del Castell was progressively abandoned, while the settlement of Boades was reconfigured as a Roman village and acted as a strategic commercial centre since it was located on the trade routes coming from the Llobregat and Cardener rivers. Several important funerary monuments were also erected during this period, such as the Torre del Breny and the Roman tomb of Boades. The Breny tower was a monumental Roman sepulchre in the form of a temple, partly dismantled in 1870 to allow its stones to be used for a nearby dam. The Roman tomb at Boades, on the other hand, is located about 100 metres south of the Roman villa and was built during the 3rd century. It is considered a prototype of Roman funerary practices in Catalonia. Material extracted from archaeological excavations in the area is currently housed in the Manresa regional museum.
Middle Ages
The beginnings of the village coincide with those of its castle. A document from 867 mentions the Castelo de Galindo (Galindo Castle), attesting to the origin of the place's name. Little is known about the history of this castle, now in ruins. The first lords of the castle and the area were the Galí family. In 1178, the castle was sold, along with its lordship, to King Alfonso II of Aragon by Sibila, who was most probably a descendant of the Galí lineage. After the purchase, King Alfonso I handed it over to feudatories. During the period in which Castellgalí was a royal property, it was governed by castlans, vassals of the king. They took the name Castellgalí as their surname, thus inaugurating a new dynasty. At the end of this period, the Black Death affected Castellgalí, leaving many farmhouses empty and causing the death of the last castlans: Berenguer de Castellgalí, and shortly afterwards his wife Guilleuma de Rocafort I Castellet. In 1350, Peter the Ceremonious sold it to Bernat Torres for 8,000 sous. The latter's son, Dalmau Torres, sold it in 1413 to Luis de Rajadell, the younger brother of the Lord of Rajadell. At the beginning of the Catalan Civil War, the lord of Castellgalí, Manel de Rajadell, left the village because he was a supporter of Juan II. Thus the lordship was temporarily ceded to the monastery of Montserrat. It is believed that the castle was destroyed during this war, between 1462 and 1472.
Modern times In the 18th century there was a great expansion of vine cultivation due to demographic expansion and the creation of the rabassa morta rental contract (until the death of the vineyards), which allowed Catellgalí to consolidate its nucleus. It was during this period that the old quarter acquired the urban configuration that still remains today, a fact that can be seen by looking at the years engraved on the lintels of the houses in the village, where in addition to the year of construction of the house, you can sometimes see the engravings that announced the services offered (a horseshoe, a loaf of bread and a knife...), as well as in the popular names given to the houses (such as Cal Ferrer, Casa del Herrero, the blacksmith's house). The old quarter was born around the royal road, the inn and the church. When the constitution of 1812 eliminated feudal duties, its last feudal lords were the Amigants, Marquises of Fonollar. The Despujol, Marquises of Palmerola, were the last noble family to buy the Amigant properties.
Contemporary age The convulsive 19th century also marked Castellgalí, from the war of independence through the three Carlist wars, but it was also the century when the new cemetery was created (1892), the church was expanded (1897), the railway arrived (1859) and so did a telegraph antenna (1887). In this period of change and conflict, when manorial rights were extinguished, the last Spanish colonies were lost and constant wars ravaged the country, Castellgalí was considered a safe place, a refuge for the troops. It was a place of refuge for the against the French, Carlist and Liberal troops, and was a place of passage for all of them. In this century, the first factories were set up (1816 Barrera textile mill, 1860 Cots, 1896 Sant Jaume and 1898 Carbons Elèctrics) that would shape the Castellgalí of the 20th century.
The industrialisation of Castellgalí, which began in the 19th century, meant that the population grew until the end of the 1970s, except during the years of the Civil War. This conflict ravaged the population, and was felt in the loss of movable heritage, mainly ecclesiastical, such as the destruction of the 17th century altarpieces of the church of San Miguel and Santa Margarita, the silver urns from the same century, with the mortal remains of Saint Honestus and San Repelión or the destruction of the figure of San Miguel.
The population decreased until the mid-1990s, when the population began to grow to its present-day levels. It is also worth mentioning the birth of the residential area of Mas Planoi, in four zones. An area of single-family houses took its name from the farmhouse that has been there since at least the 15th century. At present, it continues to expand with the recent urbanisation of Ca l'Enric de Calafell in 2022.
Places of interest The confluence of the Cardener and Lobregat rivers The place where the waters of the Cardener and Llobregat rivers meet at a large river area where riverside vegetation, especially poplars, grows majestically. The relative tranquillity of the place makes bird-watching possible in both of the migration seasons and in the wintering and nesting periods. In the cold months, some migrating ducks such as the common shoveler or the grunting duck can be found there, but it is easier to see the great cormorant. Grey herons and kingfishers can be found all year round.
Boades archaeological site and Torre del Breny Salvador Ginesta tells us that the word Breny comes from either a misspelling of Elbreny, itself derived from the personal name Elderind; a toponym about stones and undergrowth; or a Gaulish term related to a chieftain or mountain.
Also known as the Tower of the Demons, Torre del Breny was mutilated in the Middle Ages when a farmhouse was built next to it: a door was opened, a window was opened and holes were made for the beams. It is a tomb in the form of a tower, whose base is still preserved today. It is of solid construction with its sides oriented to the four cardinal points. On the outside and at the top its mouldings and details are quite deteriorated. Inside two rectangular chambers are covered by two barrel vaults. The apparatus is quite regular, made up of large, well-cut ashlars of grey sandstone, dry-jointed and elongated in shape.
From drawings made by Laborde before its destruction, we can get an idea of what it originally looked like. It had a base (conditiorium) measuring 10x10.5 m, 3 m high; externally it had mouldings and other details as decorative elements; internally it was divided into two rooms and covered with a barrel vault. Above the base was the cell, which was probably also covered with a barrel vault. The upper part was surmounted by an ornamental frieze, above which was a cornice on which the slopes of the roof rested. The frieze was decorated with sculptural reliefs: a lion on either side of a nude female figure. On the other hand, E. Hübner and J. Gudi found a graffiti or inscription engraved on an ashlar that Marc Mayer believes must read: V VILGELMO QUE, which could date from the 10th-11th centuries and could correspond to a certain Wilgemus. Different researchers think that it would refer to the owner of the area where the building was located, but after the construction of the building.
In the neighbourhood of Boadas we can see this chamber with an apsidal semicircular floor plan, partially standing behind the Vilaseca and Cadevall farmhouses, next to the road that leads to the Carbures factory. The facing of the wall is made up of ashlars of natural stone from the area, of medium and small sizes, which can be identified as opus vittatum. The ashlars are well cut and arranged in horizontal courses. It has a window of considerable size crowned with a round arch made of roof tiles and fired-earth bricks, in a wall that reaches a height of 4 m. The exedra is a Roman building dating from the Lower Imperial period, very characteristic from the 3rd century onwards. Most villages of a certain size have chambers with these characteristics, and a markedly stately character.
Roman Sepulchre: In the same neighbourhood as Boadas, a small square Roman building from the 4th or 3rd century AD, with firm walls and a well-worked plinth. It had two storeys, the upper one supported by a semicircular arch. Today, it has been extensively rebuilt, and the gable roof has been completely rebuilt. Serra Ràfols considered the four silos inside to be Iberian. It is considered of the "chamber" and "cell" type within the Roman sepulchre typology.
Casa Amigant, Castellgalí Museum