Manresa is a town and a city of Catalonia, capital of the region of Bages and central Catalonia. It is located in the plain of Bages, near the corner where the rivers Llobregat and Cardener converge. With a population of 76,250 in 2018, it is the most populous city in Bages and Central Catalonia. It is located 65 km north of Barcelona, and marks the boundary between the industrial area around Barcelona and the rural area of the north.
The city forms a very important communications hub, accentuated by the Llobregat axis and the transversal axis, between the mountains and the sea, between the interior plains of Urgell and La Segarra and the eastern counties of the country. In terms of economy, Manresa stands out in the textile, chemical and machinery industries, although in recent decades it has replaced industry with trade. The city also stands out for its medieval ensemble, with bridges over the Cardener River and its Gothic-style cathedral. In addition, there are also Baroque churches in this city, as well as interesting modernist buildings.
Today’s Manresa is clearly marked by the different historical periods it has lived through for more than a thousand years. A patrimonial and cultural legacy that is told through various corners steeped in history, where you can find mysterious medieval streets, imposing baroque houses and sumptuous modernist buildings. Apart from the urban itineraries that are designed so that the visitor can do them without the need for a guide.
Manresa is a lively and participatory city, enriching and diversifying the cultural offer in a very healthy way. Hence, Manresa has an extensive calendar of popular festivals and events, both annual and occasional, which, added to the city’s heritage, are true symbols of Manresa’s identity.
History
The name of Manresa appears documented for the first time in the year 889. From the middle of the 10th century, references are already found to the county of Manresa, a county without counts that served a military and repopulation purpose: the central lands had become practically depopulated due to the confrontations with the Muslims of Lleida. In the first half of the 14th century, Manresa lived a golden age in the demographic, economic and urban spheres, with religious and civil works as important as the Cathedral, the church of El Carme, the Pont Nou or the Sèquia. Some historians have estimated the population of Manresa in the second half of the 14th century at around 3,000 inhabitants.
The following centuries were of a slow growth, following the general tendency of Catalonia that entered a stage of decay with respect to other peninsular lands. Civil wars, epidemics, dynastic problems… One would highlight, as a fact that would later have a strong significance, the stay in Manresa of Sant Ignasi de Loiola in the years 1522-23.
The splendor of the city as such would recover in the 19th century. After the beginning of the century marked by the French War, in which Manresa played a prominent role (burning of sealed paper and battle of El Bruc, 1808), the city managed to consolidate itself as one of the most important textile industrial centers. of Catalonia. The city quickly expanded around the roads of Vic and Cardona, and also the new Passeig de Pere III. In 1892, the Catalanist Assembly approved in the session hall of the City Council the Bases de Manresa, the first written statement of the political objectives of Catalanism.
The first years of the twentieth century saw a strong growth of political and social mobilization in the city. During the brief period of the Second Republic (1931-36), important public works of a health, educational and cultural nature were built. After the civil war, the city lived some difficult years but resumed the path of economic growth and entered a long phase of urban expansion, caused in large part by the influx of immigrants from southern Spain. Since 1979, democratic city councils have worked to beautify the city and provide it with the necessary public facilities. In 1989, Manresa celebrated the centenary of its existence as a city, a long and dense historical experience that determines its temperament and allows it to face the future with confidence.
Prehistory
Within the municipality of Manresa, there are indications of a Neolithic settlement from four thousand years ago. A few grave tombs, ceramic objects and lithic industries in the area of the Marcetes forest, in the rural district of Viladordis, testify to its passage.
Ancient age
An Iberian village also settled on the Puigcardener hill. Recently, various materials have been recovered, especially ceramic that identify the existence of an Iberian settlement, which would be based towards century wine BC and that would stay until century and BC. It would be the capital of the Lacetans, who inhabited the current counties of Bages, Solsonès, Anoia and Segarra. The consul Cato had to conquer this zone towards the beginning of the century II BC to avoid fights with the Roman coastal towns. The Romans named the original town after Minorisa, the origin of the current one. The place name, however, seems to be a Latinization of Minoresa, of Iberian origin. Some archeological remains let us know that they were there, but little else. Ptolemy, geographer Greek the century and speaks of a city called Bacasis, placing “a river on a rocky hill but soft.” It could be perfectly Manresa and, in fact, from this word would derive the name of the region: Bages.
Medieval age
The presence of the Arabs in Manresa must have been testimonial. In 785 they abandoned it and it remained in no man’s land. A few years later, in 796, the Christians occupied it and it became part of the said Hispanic brand. But again it was destroyed in 827, during the revolt of Aissó, a noble glass that, helped by the son of Count Berà of Barcelona, Guillemó, and the Arabs (even the Emir Abd al-Rahman II), went ignite a revolt against the Franks. The resistance of the Frankish count of Barcelona Bernat de Septimàniahe made her fail. The importance of this episode is very great, as it was the only attempt by the Goth indigenous population to oppose the new Frankish rule. In 841 or 842 the Arabs again destroyed Manresa.
The definitive conquest of Manresa did not take place until the end of the ninth century, at the hands of Count Guifré el Pilós, who restored the bishopric of Vic. The new bishop, Gotmar, asks for the help of his colleague from Girona, Ermemir, to make a request to the new king of France, Odo I of France (Eudes): he wants for his headquarters the churches, and everything a series of fiscal rights that are now taken by the count of the valley of Artés and the place or pagus of Manresa. The king granted it by means of a type of document called precept or privilege, that signed the day24 June from 889 in the city of Orleans, is what is known as the privilege of Odo, which first wrote out the name of the city. Later, in the middle of the 10th century, there is the first reference to Manresa as a county for a military and repopulation purpose: the central lands had become practically depopulated due to the clashes with the Muslims of Lleida.
After the destruction of the town in 1003 in the expedition of Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar, the appearance of the small town of Puigcardener changes radically, so that a first extension of the walls is made, widening them so that they also protect the Puigmercadal, reaching as far as the small church of Sant Miquel, to the current street of the same name. Manresa had a great military importance as the seat of a county without a count, the county of Manresa, a very large territory that reached near Lleida, guarded by the high towers called precisely Manresa. It covered the current region of Bages, with all the Moianès, and the basin of Òdena with a horn stretched to Santa Coloma de Queralt. It included Cardona, but excluded the territories of the current terms of Navàs and Sant Mateu, which belonged to the county of Berga.
In the twelfth century there was a new Saracen fright, but the city, already better organized, recovered immediately. From that moment on, Manresa began to grow, to organize, to get rich, walking towards what will be its “great century”, the fourteenth century. The great level of the trade union organization is evident in the brotherhoods, which already appear in the thirteenth century and will be the great patrons of the works of the next century. This increase in activity is corroborated by the increase in the privileges granted by the kings to the city. The two fairs it gives to the city stand out: the one of the Ascension (1283, Pere el Gran) and the one of Sant Andreu (1311, Jaume el Just), fairs that still last today.
The great century
Under these circumstances, the city enters a great population growth. The city generates wealth and work and attracts surpluses from other populations; the knights of the large farmhouses come to carry out industrial and commercial activities, and even the small rural nobility are attracted by the comfort of public life and build their houses in Manresa. It is at this moment that the life of two districts that will be very important begins, the one of the Plain of Sant Miquel, with population dedicated to the commerce and the district of the Codines or Escodines, of peasant population. At that time there was already an important Jewish community, in the current Descent of the Jews, where they had a school and a synagogue, and were mainly engaged in usury and liberal professions. They were forced to dress in a peculiar way that allowed them to be identified. His presence was never problematic and no evidence has been found that there was never any persecution or rioting. They disappeared as a community at the end of the fourteenth century, and many surnames remain.
In the first half of the fourteenth century, Manresa entered a golden age that is often called the great century of Manresa: the Gothic century. Period of splendor in the demographic, economic and urban areas, with religious and civil works of the size of the headquarters, the church of Carmen, Sant Pere Màrtir, Sant Miquel, Sant Andreu, Santa Llúcia, the Sant Pau convent, the monastery of Santa Clara, and that of Valldaura, the Pont Nou and the major work of hydraulic engineering of the fourteenth century, the drain of Manresa. Some historians have estimated the population of Manresa at this time at about 3,000 inhabitants. The collegiate church of Santa Maria, known as the seat of Manresa, began to be built in 1328 under the direction of Berenguer de Montagut. A few years later, in 1371, there was already worship. Despite this, the work was not completed until 1486. The bell tower was completed in 1592, and the main façade and the baptistery had to wait until 1934 to be finished.
King James II, on a visit to the city in 1315, confirms the title of city, which had fallen into disuse since the eleventh century. He also granted several privileges relating to the municipal regime, which would evolve into the Council of One Hundred, which would end in the fourteenth century. The visit of James II was not the last royal visit; there came Alfonso III, John I, and especially Peter III, who had a fondness for Manresa; therefore, he stayed there in September 1344, in July 1375 and in between, in 1351, when he met his brother-in-law.Charles the Bad, King of Navarre. Both kings lodged in the inn of the convent of Preachers. The population increase was slowed by the plague of 1348, which caused the population to decline as much as to consider it a demographic crisis. Manresa’s prosperity is beginning to decline and we are living in a climate of perpetual insecurity, which favors the appearance of banditry. The census of 1365 – 70 gives a census of about 3,200 inhabitants.
From 1351 he was part of the duchy of Girona, instituted for the heir to the crown, John I, who in 1393 created the Council of One Hundred Jurors for the municipal government. Following the general trend of Catalonia, which entered a period of decline with respect to other peninsular lands, the following centuries were slow to grow. Epidemics, dynastic problems, and especially the Catalan Civil War that pitted the Generalitat against King John II during the decade 1462 – 1472.
Modern Age
In the 16th century, the stay in Manresa of Saint Ignatius of Loyola would have a strong significance for the city. The Guipuzcoan pilgrim, founder of the Jesuit order, Iñigo López de Recalde y Loiola, lived in Manresa for more than ten months. There came, from Montserrat on March 25 of 1522, and went to embark towards the Holy Land, in mid-February 1523. The memory of his stay and of the things that happened to him here is monumentalized by various temples and other places of devotion. The main of the Ignatian shrines is that of the Holy Cave, a place where, according to tradition, Ignatius of Loyola wrote his Spiritual Exercises. The church is a remarkable baroque construction. In 1603, Philip III granted the creation of a table of common deposits.
During the War of the Reapers, Manresa twice hosted the Generalitat, in 1651 and 1652. This reception provided him with the ability to mint his own currency. The Bean Swarm was an anti-sovereign revolt that occurred in June 1688.
Manresa was one of Catalan cities more reprisals by the Bourbons during the War of Succession. His position in favor of the Austrian army was punished with disproportionate severity. On August 13, 1713, a large Bourbon army under General José de Armendáriz set fire to the city of Manresa. The city, which in July 1713 had sworn allegiance to the general Bourbon duke, supported the Catalan resistance a week later, when the Austrian colonel Josep de Peguera i de Cortit presented himself with 60 horses in the city. calling for the mobilization of Manresa in favor of the resistance. The city formed its coloneland about 400 fighters led by Joan Sobrebals came out. Finding out the Duke of Pópuli of the manresana rebellion against the Bourbon obedience, sent the day 3 of August a great army formed by 4,000 Bourbon soldiers to the orders of the lieutenant general Jose de Armendáriz and the general battle José Carrillo de Albornoz, count of Montemar, in order to retaliate against the city of Manresa.
This was the reason that pushed the Duke of Populi to order General Armendáriz to burn the city of Manresa.. It seems that, initially, Armendáriz ordered the burning of the houses of the Austrian families and those who had left the city with the call of the Diputación and, so that the fire did not go out of control, he ordered the neighbors to remove the gunpowder from their houses. The flames, however, grew and spread. The force of the wind also burned some distant houses and some portions of gunpowder that the inhabitants had kept at home or that they had simply forgotten for a long time.
The fire grew so strong that the soldiers, frightened by the cries of the citizens and the dangers they considered near, dismantled the guards. The inhabitants withdrew from the danger of the fire, but before they could do so, some were buried among the ruins. In all, about 522 houses were burned, half the city. The fire destroyed Plaça Major, Carrer de Sant Miquel, Carrer de Sobrerroca, Raval de Sant Andreu, Carrer de la Codinella, Carrer de Santa Llúcia, Carrer de Galceran Andreu, Carrer del Carme, and the church of El Carme, among others. On the same day the Bourbons also burned the nucleus ofSalelles.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the colonel of Manresa took part in the defense of Barcelona in 1706. In 1713, Antoni Desvalls i de Vergós made an incursion on Manresa, during which the Bourbon regiment of Basilicata took refuge in the headquarters as the last bastion to resist. In the attack and defense of the place the church was burned. The Neapolitan Bourbon regiment was defeated, and its colonel, Félix Álvarez de la Escalera, was killed in combat. Days later, in the battle of Mura, the Catalans defeated the column ofDiego González who had left in pursuit, later going to Terrassa, and was attacked on the 9th in Esparreguera by a detachment from Martorell. On September 6 of 1714 Collegiate headquarters suffered the first fire. After the Decree of Nova Planta (1715), the city was confirmed as the capital of the district of Manresa, which grouped the territories of Bages, Berga, Lluçanès and Moianès. The corregimiento subsisted until the year 1839.
In 1793, on the occasion of the Great War, the city took the initiative to set up a general meeting or assembly of the Principality.
Contemporary age
The splendor of the city as such would recover in the nineteenth century. After the beginning of the century marked by the French War, in which Manresa played a prominent role (burning of sealed paper and Battle of the Bruc, 1808), and so on March 30, 1811 suffered a fire of more than 700 houses ordered by Macdonald, the city managed to consolidate itself as one of the most important textile industrial centers in Catalonia.
Industrialization was the trigger for the city’s progress throughout the nineteenth century, through the intensive use of hydraulic resources and the early application of steam, the installation of gas, the construction of roads and, above all, the construction of the railway from Barcelona to Lleida, which arrived in Manresa in 1859. In 1864 came the telegraph and in 1865 the water. In social welfare it also led to the creation of the Conservatory Theater in 1878. The population growth of this century triples the population, going from 8,494 hab. in 1803to 25,121 in 1898. Another consequence of the development was the foundation in 1865 of the Caja de Ahorros de Manresa and the Banco de Manresa in 1881. In 1883, the narrow-gauge railway from Manresa to Berga was built, bringing Manresa even closer to its region.
The city quickly expanded around the roads of Vic and Cardona, and also the new Paseo de Pere III (1891). In 1892, the Catalanist Assembly approved in the session hall of the City Council the Bases de Manresa, the first written statement of the political objectives of Catalanism.
The first years of the twentieth century saw a strong growth of political and social mobilization in the city. The first decade saw the birth of foundations of a cultural and societal nature, which are still maintained in relief and with extracurricular projection: the Orfeó Manresà (1901), the Center Excursionista de la Comarca de Bages (1905) and the Esbart Manresà de Dansaires (1909). During the brief period of the Second Republic (in 1931 – 36), major public works were built character health, education and culture.
The year 1936 was a black year for the monumental history Manresa: demolition of the churches of Carmen, preachers and San Miguel. On 21 December of 1938 and January 19 of 1939, Franco aviation bombed Manresa and killed at least 35 people, all civilians. Exhausted, he received fascist troops on January 24, 1939.
After the Spanish Civil War, with Franco’s repression and deportation to the Nazi camps, the city lost 755 people from Manresa. The city went through difficult years, but resumed the path of economic growth and entered a long phase of urban expansion, caused in large part by the influx of labor immigration from southern Spain.
The engine of this expansion was the textile factories, but from the sixties they enter a long process of agony, which concludes in 1977 with the closure of the largest of all, the Gallifa factory, now recovered as a center. cultural and symbol of a stage that is already history. The Pirelli factory – opened in 1924 – was able to absorb part of this workforce, as well as the Lemmerz industry, both related to the automotive sector.
In 1989, Manresa celebrated the millennium of its existence as a city. In the 90s, with the opening of the Manresa- Terrassa motorway, the construction of the Transversal Axis, and the arrival of another wave of immigration, this time from beyond the peninsula (basically the Maghreb), has contributed to the population growth of the city.
Tourism
Manresa has an ancient, diverse and relevant cultural heritage: medieval walls and churches, Baroque buildings and modernist-style factories and houses, sculptures, street facades and squares in the Historic Center… All these elements make Manresa a unique, attractive city with character. The city was born from the walled and primitive enclosure of the Puigcardener. From the 10th to the 15th century, it experienced such great economic activity that it expanded its territory outside the walls and expanded its walls twice between the 12th and 14th centuries. This is the so-called Golden Century of Manresà, during which great works were built, such as the Cathedral, one of the most important Gothic churches in Catalonia, or the Sèquia de Manresa, a marvel of medieval engineering still in operation.
Other historical episodes have taken place in Manresa, such as the stay of Ignatius of Loyola on his way to the Holy Land, with which there are various related heritage elements such as La Cova, the Chapel of Gallina, the War of the Spanish Succession or the rebellion against the Napoleonic army in 1808, events in which Manresa played an important role, although it suffered severe consequences. Also of great importance are the elements linked to the industrial heritage and the modernist style buildings, witnesses of a flourishing period in Manresa, when the city became one of the main industrial centers of the country. This historical evolution has left very visible traces in the current city that make up our architectural, archaeological and landscape heritage.
Manresa also has a rich intangible heritage that includes all those festive, musical, traditional and popular manifestations that are typical of the community of which we are part and which are preserved thanks to the activity of numerous entities and institutions that keep them alive and well active.
Manresa, Heart of Catalonia
The “Manresa, heart of Catalonia” itinerary allows you to discover the most important points of interest in the historic center of Manresa: from the Tourist Office you will head to the Basilica of La Seu. Then, you will cross the medieval street of El Balç, until you find the Pou de la Gallina, in Carrer Sobrerroca. From this point, you will walk through some of the most iconic spaces in our historic center, such as Plaça Major and Carrer Sant Miquel. Once you reach the Plana de l’Om, you will leave the medieval city behind and enter the heart of modernist Manresa, getting to know each of the different buildings of this style that are in the current commercial areas of our city.
Universal Manresa, the city of Sant Ignasi
The itinerary of “Universal Manresa: the city of Sant Ignasi” allows you to discover the most spiritual Manresa, following in the footsteps of Sant Ignasi de Loiola in the historic center. Head to the chapel of Sant Ignasi Malalt and to the Basilica of the Cathedral. Next, you will walk along the medieval Carrer del Balç, the Pou de la Gallina chapel and follow the defunct medieval path until you reach the old Sant Ignasi school. From there you will head to the Cave of St. Ignatius, the most important Ignatian point in our city. Finally, you can visit the Ignatian Manresa Interpretation Center “Manresa 1522: the city of Ignatius”, located next to the Conservatory Theater.
Modernist Manresa
The “Modernist Manresa” itinerary allows you to know the contemporary history of our city. Through this walk through the 19th and 20th centuries, you will be able to observe the architectural consequences of the great economic and urban growth that our city had thanks to its powerful textile industry. Admire the city’s main modernist buildings such as El Casino, Torre Lluvià, La Buresa (or Casa Torrents) and the Kursaal Theater.
Path of farewell
Follow the path that connects La Cova and Viladordis, passing by the streets of Passatge de la Cova, new in Santa Clara, the Creu del Tort and the convent of Santa Clara. From there you will reach the famous Creu de la Culla, and from this point to Viladordis. Follow the steps of the Camino de Santiago, but in the opposite direction to usual. According to oral and written tradition, during his stay in Manresa, Saint Ignatius used to visit Viladordis and the Sanctuary of Health regularly. Some of these narratives include an important episode of the Ignatian experience that took place in this space, related to the fainting of the saint that took place on an afternoon in June 1522, after several days of fasting and penance.
Path of illustration
This itinerary goes through the natural and urban scenes that accompany the moment of maximum inspiration that lived Sant Ignasi de Loiola in Manresa, known with the name of the Eximia Illustration of the Cardener. This moment, together with the creation of the Spiritual Exercises, constitutes the culmination of the Ignatian experience in our city. So, follow the paths that connect the three sides of the triangle formed by the Cardener river, and the neighborhoods of Les Escodines, La Balconada and Sant Pau.
Main sights
Three bridges cross the Cardener River. The 14th-century basilica of Santa Maria de la Seu stands on a rock above the oldest bridge. La Seu is the principal monument of Manresa. The church we can see today was designed by Berenguer de Montagut who also designed Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona.The architectural style is characteristic of Catalan Gothic. The work began in 1325, but the church was not finished until the end of the 15th century. The municipal museum is housed in the cloisters of the 17th-century church of Sant Ignasi. This church is part of the Sanctuary Cave of Saint Ignatius (in Catalan Cova de Sant Ignasi), built over a cave in which Saint Ignatius of Loyola is said to have prayed and meditated.
Historical heritage
Enjoy a historic day, delving into the splendor of the medieval period. At the Museu Comarcal de Manresa, enjoy important collection from the Middle Ages, and samples of Romanesque and Gothic painting and sculpture, you can also admire one of the most complete collections of decorated ceramics in Catalonia. In addition, the museum has an important Baroque artistic and heritage collection and remarkable collections of contemporary painting that will allow you to walk through the history. Carrer del Balç, an interpretation center located on a covered street from the 14th century, almost unique in Catalonia, where, with the help of King Pere III El Cerimoniós, immerse in life in Manresa. medieval.
The main monument of Manresa, the Basilica of La Seu, a jewel of Catalan Gothic, the work of the master builder Berenguer de Montagut. Walking through its surroundings you will enjoy both fantastic visits to the city from the park and its majestic exterior. Once inside, you can admire the spacious interior of its nave, which together with the light colored by the stained glass windows, creates an almost magical atmosphere. The majesty of the nave is magnified by the important works of art inside, such as the Altarpiece of the Holy Spirit (1394) or the baroque crypt of Jaume Padró (1780).
The old town
The old town of Manresa is a work included in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia as a whole. The neighborhood is developed in concentric arches, starting from the axes of the two hills: Puigcardener and Puigmercadal. The streets that make it up are narrow and winding (medieval town planning), breathe and are presided over by a couple of important squares and several secondary squares.
It is located in the center, not topographic of the plan, but commercial and administrative, of the city. It has its origins in an Iberian village. In the thirteenth century, its wall extended the perimeter including the first suburbs of the medieval city: the plain of Sant Miquel, Vilanova, El Born and Les Piques, the long cobblestone street and the Cuitaria (Sta. Llúcia). It has been a badly damaged area in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and subsequent reconstructions have been practical and poor. Four-storey buildings and plastered facades. There are very important and representative civil and ecclesiastical monuments.
The Basilica of Santa Maria de la Seu
The Cathedral of Manresa is the main monument in Manresa. The Gothic church that we can see today was designed by Berenguer de Montagut, who also designed such important works as Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona. The architectural conception is characteristic of the Catalan Gothic: austerity in the decoration and predominance of the horizontal volumes, with a great width of ship. Work began in 1325, but the temple was not finished until the end of the 15th century. The main façade is neo-Gothic, designed by Alexandre Soler i March advised by Antoni Gaudí. The Cathedral is also of great interest for the works of art it preserves inside, especially for the set of Gothic altarpieces.
Manresa City Council
Manresa City Council presides over the main square and is a civil baroque style building built between 1739 and 1777, the work of Joan Garrido, after the old house of Veguer and Batlle was destroyed due to a fire on 1713. It is a stately building, conceived as a large house with a sober facade, where the only decorative element is a large coat of arms of the city in the center.
In 1892, the Bases for the Catalan Regional Constitution were signed, popularly known as the Manresa Bases. This document included eighteen articles for the creation of a project for Catalan regional power.
The Tower of Sobrerroca
The square-based tower was built between the 13th and 14th centuries. This portal was one of the eight that closed the wall and had a dual function: to allow entry and exit from the city and to act as a checkpoint. It has recently been restored and the interior can be accessed during the city’s festivities or with guided tours of the Manresa Tourist Office.
The Old Bridge
The Pont Vell crosses the Cardener River at the south-western entrance to Manresa. Of Roman origin, the current one is a faithful reconstruction of the medieval bridge dating from the twelfth century, of which the bases of the central arches are preserved. The bridge was destroyed in 1939 due to bombing and was rebuilt between 1960 and 1962. The bridge draws eight semicircular arches with a maximum height of 25 meters above the river.
Casino
Considered the main modernist building in Manresa, the Casino was the work of Ignasi Oms i Ponsa. From its inception in 1906, it functioned as a social club for the well-to-do classes and as a playground, until the Franco dictatorship outlawed this practice. Then, the so-called Lords’ Casino began a gradual decline that led it to close its doors in the 1970s. And it was not until 1999, after a comprehensive refurbishment, that the building came back to life with the inauguration of a large public library and a cultural center.
The Chapel of the Rapture
Located in the old Hospital de Santa Llúcia, demolished during the Civil War, this chapel recalls one of the miracles starring Saint Ignatius of Loyola: a spiritual abduction where he remained motionless for eight days. It currently preserves the old Gothic portal and a reclining sculpture of Saint Ignatius that was already revered before the Civil War.
The Palace of Justice
It was built during the second half of the 17th century, inspired by the Palau de la Generalitat. The Renaissance façade with ornamentation by the Manresa sculptor Francesc Grau stands out. From the 18th century until 2009 it was the Palace of Justice and courts of Manresa.
The Kursaal Theater
The Kursaal Theater was commissioned in 1926 by the Barcelona businessman Andreu Cabot to the architect Josep Firmat i Serramalera. It is a Noucentista style building; the façade is of classical composition and highlights the front courtyard where we find Ionic columns and a terrace with balustrade. The theater was inaugurated in August 1927 and for years hosted all kinds of events: cinema, theater, opera, concerts, etc. In 1988 it passed into municipal hands and, seven years later, the El Galliner association recovered it as a stage equipment and reopened its doors after a major restoration in February 2007.
Well of Light
Well of Light is a monument in the form of spiral installed in 2008 to mark the project Cardener in the Antarctic (2001-2004) of the artist Chilean Fernando Prats. It includes, inside, a perforation 15 meters deep, which symbolizes the connection with other parts of the Earth, through the mystical experience. It is located on the esplanade of the Balconada de Sant Pau, and is identified by some as the stage where Ignatius had the Eximian Enlightenment, understood as the first vision of the Exercises and as an intuition of the foundation of the Company of Jesus.
Cultural heritage
Museums
Manresa has eight museums or museum spaces, covering different areas and eras. The best known is the Museu Comarcal de Manresa, which, inaugurated in 1896, shows various collections that focus on the art and history of Manresa, Bages and Catalonia. The museum includes a journey through time from prehistory to the present. The other museums and museum spaces in the city are the Manresa Technical Museum, the Historical Museum of the Cathedral, the Valentí Miserachs Geology Museum, the Mestres Cabanes Foundation, the Carrer del Balç Interpretation Center, and the Space 1522: the city of Ignatius.
Manresa County Museum
The Museu Comarcal de Manresa is a museographic space that occupies two floors in the building of the old Col•legi de Sant Ignasi – where the Bages Comarcal del Bages is also located and, since 2015, the Pilgrim Reception Center-. It is a square building organized from a large cloister, of neoclassical order, built by the Society of Jesus in the mid-seventeenth century and renovated in the mid-eighteenth century. The first municipal museum was inaugurated in 1896, in the town hall’s own premises. Both the location and the museum’s holdings have changed and adapted to the different times and vicissitudes that our city has experienced. With a multidisciplinary theme, the collections on display have the art and history of Manresa, Bages and Catalonia as a central axis.
A visit to the Regional Museum will take you on a journey through more than 6,000 years: from prehistory to the present, following the thread of the country’s history and art. Along this route you can enjoy especially attractive pieces and relevant collections such as medieval pottery decorated in green and manganese, also known as “Manresa pottery”. You will also be able to admire the set of works of gilded and polychrome baroque sculpture, most of them made by artists and workshops from our city, such as those of the Grau, Generes or Sunyer. Also of special interest is the room dedicated to the work of the Manresa set designer Josep Mestres Cabanes, best known for his sets designed by the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In the most recent history, the Espai Memòries stands out, a unique project of art and research in the field of historical memory. In this space, exhibitions and various activities are carried out, structured in work programs that are renewed annually, so that visitors can become active agents of all actions and initiatives.
Museum of Technology
The Museu de la Tècnica de Manresa is a museographic space located in the old enclosure of the monumental building known as “Dipòsits Vells”. The huge cisterns inside the building stored the water from the Ditch. They were built between 1861 and 1865 by the master builder of Aragonese origin Marià Potó and served to supply the first water distribution network in our city. The building has three identical and independent tanks, of 800m2 each, covered by two stone vaults supported on the retaining walls and a row of arches and central pillars, with an area of 2,400m2 and a capacity of 12,000m3 of water.
The museum houses a multipurpose room and two permanent exhibitions, entitled “La Sèquia i l’aigua” and “La cinteria” respectively. The first aims to explain the great work of the Sèquia de Manresa from a historical perspective and especially focused on its effects for the growth of agricultural production and urban planning in Manresa since the Middle Ages. The second is an exhibition focused on the importance of belts and the production of narrow fabric in our city, explaining how Manresa is becoming the main producer of this type of fabric throughout Europe.
Carrer del Balç Interpretation Center
Located in the premises of an old noble house, the interpretation center on Carrer del Balç offers our visitors a montage with multimedia resources that highlights a unique heritage, allowing them to know what Manresa was like in the 14th century. By accessing it, they will be able to discover an epic story, narrated and centered on the figure of King Peter III the Ceremonious, the great forging monarch of the main Catalan institutions. Carrer del Balç is a magnificent example of medieval Catalan town planning. The street was part of the core of the medieval city, located around the current Plaza Mayor. With a narrow and winding layout, the street adapts to the profile of a balsa or balcony, with different staggered levels. One of the most special features of this space is its roof, created by the porches that were built between houses and houses, at the end of the medieval period in order to take advantage of the limited space that was inside of the walled city.
Valentí Masachs Museum of Geology
The Valentí Masachs Museum of Geology is located within the premises of the Polytechnic School of Engineering of Manresa, which is part of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. It was founded in 1980 and the famous Manresa geologist Valentí Masachs was its first director. It is a museum with features that distinguish it from traditional geology museums. Apart from being able to admire classic collections of minerals, fossils and rocks from the Catalan Countries and other areas of the continent, it also presents the many uses that these geological elements have for people. Throughout the exhibition, very pedagogical and attractive showcases for visitors, facilitate the work of teachers and student learning. The museum currently has a collection of about 5,500 minerals, 2,400 rocks and about 3,400 fossils.
Historical Museum of La Seu
The Historical Museum of the Cathedral is located in a specially equipped space just above the atrium of the main façade of the Cathedral. It was inaugurated in 1934 with the aim of conserving and exhibiting the sacred works of art of the Cathedral that had fallen into disuse, out of everyday worship. Among the most important pieces, there is a Romanesque crucifix of polychrome wood carving, dating from the 12th century. However, the most exceptional piece in the space is the so-called “Florentine front”, a natural silk altar front, woven and embroidered in Florence by Geri di Lapi. It was commissioned and financed by the Manresa jurist Ramon Saera in 1357. Saera gave it to the Cathedral with the intention of using it during the consecration of the temple.
The museum’s collection also houses fragments of various Baroque altarpieces from the famous Manresa workshops of the Grau and the Sunyer, the plans of the modernist façade of the Cathedral, made by the architect Alexandre Soler i March, as well as numerous historical objects. of goldsmithing and liturgical clothing.
Space Manresa
The Space Manresa in 1522, Ignatius city is a center of Manresa Jesuit interpretation of which is housed in the premises of the former cloister convent of Santo Domingo, the square FIUs and blade. The aim of this space is to help all visitors who wish, both from Manresa and abroad, to discover what the city that hosted Sant Ignasi de Loiola was like. In order to achieve this, the space is equipped with a model of Manresa from 1522, various panels and explanatory photographs about the history of the old convent and its relationship with Sant Ignasi, as well. as an audiovisual projection that shows in an understandable way the various stages of the Ignatian experience in the city. In addition, the Espai Manresa 1522 also makes available to visitors various heritage elements and artistic pieces extracted from the churches of El Carme and Sant Pere Màrtir, two Gothic temples destroyed in the summer of 1936, but which were regularly visited by the future saint.
Cinemas
The two cinemas in Manresa are the Bages Center and the Conservatory / Cineclub. The Bages Center, located in the “els Trullols” area, has multi-cinemas with 12 rooms where new films are screened. The Conservatory / Cineclub is the oldest cinema, where on Sundays every two weeks films are shown in their original version.
Kursaal Theater
The Kursaal Theater is a cultural facility built in 1927 by order of the businessman Andreu Cabot. It is located on the first section of Passeig Pere III. The current building was designed by the architect Josep Firmat i Serramalera, following a sober Noucentista style, with some historicist elements. The façade is of a very classical composition, although the huge front courtyard stands out, where you can see multiple Ionic columns and a terrace with a balustrade.
The Kursaal functioned as a movie theater during the first decades of its existence. A gradual process of decline and structural degradation eventually led to its initial closure in 1988. In the mid-1990s, the cultural association of Manresa “El Galliner” launched a campaign to recover the space, reaching the support of the administration and the citizenry as a whole. After a long process of rehabilitation, in 2007 it was inaugurated again, this time as a theater, giving impetus to the cultural activity of Manresa and its projection as a key point in the world of Catalan theater.
Events and festivals
Manresa is a city that hosts different fairs, exhibitions and festivals throughout the year, some of its most popular festivities and festivals are:
Fira de l’Aixada
The Fira de l’Aixada is the great commemoration of the medieval past of Manresa, celebrated since 1999, the weekend after February 21, the day of the Mysterious Light. The historic center of Manresa takes a trip back to the 14th century and is filled with artisans, masters of ancient trades who demonstrate their arts and skills, tightrope walkers, minstrels, gypsy dancers and many other elements and attractions. of medieval inspiration. The bustling streets, set and decorated as if again, were returning to the great city that captivated serfs, lords and kings.
Celebrations of the Light
Every February 21st, our Festa de la Llum is celebrated in Manresa, a festival of great historical importance, of great symbolic value and recognized as one of the 10 treasures of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Catalonia and Andorra since 2009. Water and light are the most representative symbols of this festival. The origin of this commemoration dates back to the winter of 1345. At that time, the city of Manresa was in a delicate political, social and spiritual situation. A few months ago a fierce conflict had broken out between the city council and the bishop of Vic, which had paralyzed the construction of the Sèquia canal. The city desperately needed water after the severe droughts of previous years and the situation was getting worse every day. Finally, according to some testimonies collected at the time, on February 21, 1345, a mysterious light penetrated through one of the windows of the church of Carmen, dividing into three under the apse.
The Festa de la Llum is a set of festive and commemorative actions that begin with the Proclamation, and which also include events such as: The Walk to look for light in Montserrat and water in La Sèquia. The Office in the church of Carmen with the theatrical performance of the Mystery of Light (a liturgical play with a medieval resemblance). The staging of the arrival of light and water at the Monument of Light. Hoop Fair. Transèquia (walk from Balsareny to Manresa, following the Sèquia canal). In addition, we must add all those events organized by different citizen organizations related to the symbols of the Festival of Light, the medieval period and the spirit of Manresa.
Easter
The traditional acts of Holy Week in Manresa begin, as usual, on Palm Sunday, with the blessing of the palms and palms in the Plaza de Cristo Rey. Around noon, the Maniple dels Armats de Manresa joins the celebration, marching through the main streets and squares of the city. The most famous event is the Good Friday Procession. Both the format and some of the steps were renewed from the year 2000, thanks to the efforts of the participating brotherhoods and the collaboration of the House of Andalusia of Manresa, which have managed to give a more personal and unique in the Manresa procession.
The route of the celebration begins with the exit of the steps of the basilica of the Cathedral, passes by the Descent of the Cathedral, goes by the Vallfonollosa street towards Plaça de les Creus, then continues towards the Plaça de la Reforma, in the Carrer Alfons XII to La Plana de l’Om, follow Carrer del Born, reach Plaça Sant Domènec and return to the Basilica of La Seu, following the route described. The Armed Forces of Manresa and the steps of the Nazarene, the Good Death, the Holy Sepulcher, various choirs and the Esperanza Macarena, among others, take part in this procession.
Expobages
ExpoBages is the leading multisectoral fair in central Catalonia. Throughout its history, the ExpoBages has been a showcase for the economic activity of Manresa and our region, becoming a meeting point between traders and consumers, between professionals and their customers, between service providers and users., and also between the administration and the citizens. Since 2013, the fair has moved to the shopping center of Manresa, combining with the traditional Ascension Fair, which has been held in our city since the thirteenth century. Throughout a weekend in May, the fair stretches through the main streets of the center of Manresa and combines the offer of a multisectoral exhibition with stalls of artisans and open trade throughout the weekend. Highlights include the automotive, health and sports, tourism, human services and food sectors. In short, the ExpoBages-Ascensió becomes an unbeatable platform to discover, get to know and taste first-hand a myriad of products and services that our city and our region can offer.
Festa Major de Manresa
The Festa Major de Manresa, held around the last week of August, is the city’s great festive event, along with the now traditional Fira de l’Aixada, and which has a large participation in all its acts. The origins of the Festa Major go back to 1372, when the relics of the Cossos Sants (Santa Agnès, Sant Fruitós and Sant Maurici) were solemnly moved from the village of Sant Fruitós de Bages to La Seu, which is it was in the process of being built. The traditional acts of the celebration are the Proclamation, the parade with the giants, the dwarves and the imagery of the city, the thunder in the Plaza Mayor, the castle of fires, the solemn office – which is attended by the authorities in procession from of the City Council – and the correfoc. The correfoc of Manresa, celebrated on the last Monday of Festa Major, is one of the longest and most important in Catalonia. It features characters such as the Vibria, the Wooden Ox, and gangs of devils.
Mediterranean Fair
Every October, since 1998, Manresa has hosted a new edition of the Fira Mediterrània, an event that has become a reference date in the calendar of lovers of shows with traditional and popular roots. The Fira Mediterrània is a show market arranged from new artistic creations inspired by the features of Catalan popular culture and the different peoples of the Mediterranean. The fair has an interdisciplinary character and brings together the different artistic languages: visual arts, circus, dance, exhibitions, music, oral narration and theater. The shows scheduled include different sizes and formats – small, medium or large, indoor or street – aimed at both adult and family audiences. A festival that, year after year, grows and deepens in the dialogue between tradition and modernity.
Sant Andreu Fair
The Fira de Sant Andreu is a traditional celebration that takes place on the Sunday closest to the onomastics of Sant Andreu, on 30 November. This fair, together with the Ascension Fair, is one of the oldest celebrations in our city. Its origins date back to August 1311, when King Jaume II granted the people of Manresa the privilege of holding a 10-day fair, coinciding with the holding of a Cortes. The fair is currently organized by the UBIC Manresa and you can find a large sample of artisans and paradisiacs of all kinds established in the main commercial arteries of the city. It also combines attractions, raffles and many other activities.
Santa Lucia Fair
With the arrival of December, the traditional Santa Llúcia fair is set up in Manresa, filling with stalls some of the iconic spaces in the historic center of our city where you can find all the typical products related to these festivities, from the boxwood, poinsettias or Christmas flowers, figures for making the crib, various ornaments and handicrafts. There are also establishments to do the last Christmas shopping or to taste the most iconic gastronomic products of the moment, such as nougat, nuts and all kinds of sweets. The fair takes place in the historic center, in the Baixada de la Seu and the Plaza Mayor on the day of Santa Llúcia.
Manrusionica
Manrusionica is the leading electronic music festival in Central Catalonia. Through a transversal proposal, which combines the various urban scenarios with different styles of music, the festival aims to bring electronic music to everyone. The day has open events, held outdoors, on stages located around the most iconic spaces of our city, such as the Parc de la Seu. After midnight, the party continues at the Stroika nightclub, with a set of performances that close with more than 19 hours of music.
Feast of St. Ignatius
The Feast of St. Ignatius has its origins in 1622, the year of the canonization of the pilgrim and the centenary of his stay in Manresa (March 1522). Traditionally, they have been organized by the association of merchants, with various activities within the Historic Center, and The Cave of St. Ignatius, which offers masses in various Ignatian places. The City Council has joined the program of events of the party by organizing a series of cultural and recreational events, which have been increased with the intention of promoting the party, make it more attractive and extend its dissemination and participation. It is an action that aims to keep alive the memory of the pilgrim Saint Ignatius and do so in a festive space of coexistence and harmony.
Natural space
Manresa Green Ring
The Anella Verda de Manresa is a set of free spaces around the city that, due to their social, environmental, landscape and agricultural productive values, must be protected, connected and enhanced, making them available to everyone. The Green Ring is conceived as a continuous free space that surrounds our city. An ideal space to celebrate leisure activities, educational initiatives, sports days and cultural events according to its different characteristics. A space that can continue to be free and productive, suitable for generating wealth, without losing its functions of biological and natural connector with external natural spaces. The Anella Verda project was born with the aim of preserving, promoting and disseminating from a participatory and active point of view, the patrimonial, landscape, environmental and social values of the Manresa area. A natural environment understood as another area of the city, which can enhance the free spaces that surround us while promoting sustainable and balanced growth and development.
Lluvià Tower
The Lluvià or Vil•la Emilia tower is a modernist summer house with historicist elements that is located in the heart of the Green Ring of Manresa, forming part of the route of the Riera de Rajadell. Its design was commissioned from the Manresa architect Ignasi Oms i Ponsa, who directed the works during 1896. The main building is a manor house of a residential-rural nature, surrounded by fields and groves. It has a square floor plan and is made up of three bodies: the central one, three storeys high and with an octagonal tower, and the two side ones, attached to the main one, which are two storeys high.
The building maintained agricultural and recreational activity until the middle of the last century. From then on, the estate changed owners recurrently. This fact contributed to aggravate the state of the architectonic set, due to the lack of maintenance. The City Council acquired the building in early 2012, in an almost dilapidated state. During 2014 and 2015, restoration works were carried out so that it could be a tourist point and interpretation center for the Anella Verda de Manresa. The works of improvement and adaptation of the space have continued in the last year 2018, together with the first initiatives of replanting of vineyard and olive tree in the lands of the estate. From the Lluvià tower, you can also make various itineraries through the natural environment or visit two of the wineries of the DO Pla de Bages that you have very close.
Parks
There are more than 40 parks in Manresa, most of them children’s parks. However, the two largest parks are:
Needle Park
The Parc de l’Agulla is located on the outskirts of Manresa, in the direction of Santpedor. The park was born with the construction of Lake Agulla, which was built between 1966 and 1974, after being completely lined with concrete slabs. The lake has an area of 64,000 m² and a capacity of 200,000 m3 which ensures a reservation for Manresa for more than a week.
The lake is surrounded by the park of 688 trees of twenty different species and, in addition, you can practice some water-related sports activities. In the park we find the Visitor Center of the Parc de la Séquia, a bar, an ice cream kiosk and children’s play areas.
Séquia Park
The Parc de la Séquia has adapted the entire environment of the medieval canal so that visitors can discover a territory with a rich heritage and legendary stories. That is why basic equipment has been installed to facilitate the visit and interpretation of the most interesting places.
Apart from the canal that carries the water from Balsareny to Manresa, the facilities that make up the Parc de la Séquia are the Visitor Center, the Can Font Water Center and the Manresa Technical Museum.
It is a route with complementary activities to do and presents a varied leisure offer. In fact, the Parc de la Séquia is the main theme of various heritage and leisure facilities, which are close to its route.