Berga

Berga
—  Municipality  —
Coat of arms
Berga Location in Catalonia
Coordinates: 42°06′04″N 1°50′38″E / 42.10111°N 1.84389°E / 42.10111; 1.84389Coordinates: 42°06′04″N 1°50′38″E / 42.10111°N 1.84389°E / 42.10111; 1.84389
Country	Spain
Province	Barcelona
Comarca	Berguedà
Government
• Mayor	Juli Gendrau i Farguell (CIU)
Area
• Total	22.56 km2 (8.71 sq mi)
Elevation	704 m (2,310 ft)
Population (2009)
• Total	17,160
• Density	760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Berguedà
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	Official website

Berga is the capital of the comarca (county) of Berguedà, in Catalonia, Spain.

History

Berga derives its name from the Bergistani, an Iberian tribe that 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 likely the precursor to the modern town of Berga.^[1]

Berga was ruled by viscounts in the Early Middle Ages and it had its own counts from 988.

Berga was sold to king Peter II of Aragon in 1199.

In May, 2012, the urban council decided to pass a motion declaring King Juan Carlos 'persona non grata' following a series of scandals involving the royal family, most notably the monarch's recent elephant hunting trip to Africa in the middle of Spain's deepening recession.^[2]

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 was inaugurated the first Free Software Street of the world in Berga, during a ceremony attended by Mr. Richard Stallman. The initiative of the street name was proposed by Albert Molina, Abel Parera and Xavier Gassó, which were also the promoters of the event.

Sister cities

• Guernica, Spain
• Tarascon-sur-Ariège, France
• Högsby, Sweden^[3]

See also

• La Guita Xica

References

v t e Municipalities of Berguedà Avià Bagà Berga Borredà Capolat Casserres Castell de l'Areny Castellar de n'Hug Castellar del Riu Cercs L'Espunyola Fígols Gironella Gisclareny Guardiola de Berguedà Gósol Montclar Montmajor La Nou de Berguedà Olvan La Pobla de Lillet Puig-reig La Quar Sagàs Saldes Sant Jaume de Frontanyà Sant Julià de Cerdanyola Santa Maria de Merlès Vallcebre Vilada Viver i Serrateix

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