Manresa

Manresa is the capital of the comarca of Bages in the Spanish province of Barcelona in Catalonia. The city had on 1 January 2013 76 170 inhabitants and is located about 70 kilometers north of Barcelona, ​​in the heart of Catalonia.

Geography

The city is located in the southern tip of the Pla de Bages, nestled between the rivers Llobregat and Cardener. Both rivers partially form a natural border with the neighboring communities. The lower reaches of the Cardener encloses a loop in the west and south of the city and ends after about 5 km outside the municipal boundary, in the Llobregat. The highest point of the municipality is the lying to the west, 543 meters high, Collbaix.

Structures

Manresa is a city with many medieval, Baroque and Modernist buildings, including:

  • The Basilica of Santa Maria de la Seu, ​​called " Seu de Manresa " ( 14th to 18th century) with various elements of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance. Inside you will find the statue of Mare de Deu de l' Alba and important Gothic altarpieces Catalan artists.
  • The bridge over the River Pont Vell Cardener was built in Roman times, new addresses in the Gothic style after repeated destruction during the 12th century and reconstructed in 1960-1962.
  • The Cova de Sant Ignasi, a building complex consisting of a baroque church, built from 1759 to 1763, and a large classic-style building from the 1890s, built around a cave in which St. Ignatius of Santa Cova (, Holy Cave '), Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, a few months lived.

Other important buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries are the Palace of Justice and the town hall.

Economy

Manresa is an important center for the textile, machinery and chemical industry. In recent decades, the economy has changed for the trade.

Ignatius of Loyola

For the Jesuit Manresa has a special meaning: the later founder of the order, Ignatius of Loyola, spent several months in solitude, in which he exposed himself to extreme poverty and resistant depth in prayer. In a cave on Cardener he had an epiphany that shaped him in a spiritual sense for his whole life. With the end of his time in Manresa Ignatius became a pilgrim who brought it to Jerusalem, and on many more stations to Rome.

Sons and daughters of the town

  • Juan Ignacio Cirac Sasturain ( b. 1965 ), Physicist
  • David García de la Cruz ( born 1981 ), football player
  • Toni Elías (* 1983), motorcycle racer Moto2 World Champion 2010
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