Palafrugell

Palafrugell ( cat. [ pəɫəfɾuʒeʎ ] ) is a Catalan city in the province of Girona at the central Costa Brava, and has 22,942 inhabitants (INE at 1 January 2013).

The town of Palafrugell is part of an administrative community (in Catalan Municipi ), which also belong to the small coastal towns of Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu and 5 more districts.

The urban area covers an area of approximately 27 square kilometers and is located about 2.5 km from the coast.

History

In the 5th and 6th centuries, many coastal residents moved to Palafrugell, because the security was no longer on the coasts. Written plunged the city for the first time in a document of November 3, 988. Here it is mentioned as Palau Frugell, " Palau " means the protected house and " Frugell " is a Germanic personal name.

From the 12th to the 19th century Palafrugell was under the rule of the Prior of St. Anna of Barcelona. During the 16th century watchtowers were built in the municipality of Palafrugell and new houses were built. The growth of the population was connected with the increasing traditional economy, such as agriculture and fishing, but also the increasing demand for cork played an important role. A further important historical event was the so-called Palafrugell battle on 20 July 1638th In the 19th century the economy Palafrugells consisted mainly of the production of cork. During the 1930s, the city was dominated by tourism. In the 1960s, the infrastructure was improved and a population growth followed.

Attractions

The 1904 built in a modernist style cork factory Manufacturas de Corcho Armstrong SA, is now an industrial monument, as the cork production was moved to another building. The existing Museu del Suro since 1991 Cork Museum gives information about the cork and how the economic development Palafrugells related to it. This includes a small shop where you can buy cork products.

The Museum Fundació Josep Pla, which is located in and adjacent to the birthplace of Josep Pla in the Carrer Nou 51, ​​reports on the life and work of the writer. Here you can find also Plas library containing about 5,000 documents including manuscripts, pictures and newspapers.

Also worth seeing is the Botanical Gardens of Cap Roig ( Jardí Botànic de Caixa Girona) in Calella de Palafrugell. In 1927 there bought the exiled Russian Colonel Nicolai Woevodsky and its coming from the British aristocracy wife Dorothy Webster country, a neo-Romanesque castle built as a residence and put on a hillside to the sea on a Mediterranean landscape park, the foundation for today's Botanical Garden was formed.

Famous people

The writer Josep Pla (1897-1981) was born in Palafrugell, devoted in his works mainly with the cultural tradition of the Costa Brava.

The landscape painter Josep Costa Sobrepera was born in Palafrugell, and works here.

Twinning

  • Mirepoix (France) since November 1984
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