La Selva del Camp

La Selva del Camp

The Selva del Camp is in the heart of Tarragona, a zone favoured by his tourist resources, apart from his values, cultural tourism, heritage of the humanity, folklore and gastronomy, natural environment, is a people of services.

It spreads from the plain to the first spurs of the Serra de la Mussara. A third part corresponds to mountainous areas though of scanty elevation. The highest point is the puig d'en Cama of 717 m, and the principal current of water is he her was laughing at la Selva, a tributary of the river Francolí.

The municipality understands the city of la Selva del Camp, which is the center and the hamlets of Paretdelgada and of Sant Pere.

 

History

The first documentary reference is in Montgons's donation, in 1149, where la Selva (Silva Constantino) appears as a limit.

The letter of population of May 13, 1164 was granted by the archbishop Hug de Cervelló, who was granting diverse exemptions and was supporting the settlers subject to the justice and dominion of the Church of Tarragona. In the bulla of 1174 it consists as dominion of the archbishop, though other sources give as gentleman the "pavorde", already in 1169, which was Ramon de Bages. In the dissolution of the "pavordía", the archbishop assumed the direct domain until 1823.

During the 13th century the municipality had a monopoly on the wheat and the barley, being the most important crop of the first one. To the length of the 13th century one speaks already about the culture of the hazel, about the trade of the dry figs, which was providing high income, and about the practice of the usury and about the slavery.

In 1280, the peoples of the Camp met in la Selva, before the arbitrarinesses of the royal veguer Bernat Bolla, to attack the castle of the king in Tarragona, which was plundered, since also they it were the houses and the goods of the "veguer" and his delegates. The king, as revenge, ordered the veguer that they did the whole evil that they could to the men of la Selva and to his goods.

In the 14th century it was a villa with push, had nine mills, three ovens of bread, a butcher's shop and a tavern for the sale of wine to the detail; summit took the culture of the vineyard; that of the wheat was kept and that of the barley was growing. There were also olive trees, carob-trees and "roldones" and trade of dry figs. 

The big pests had a notable incident in the agriculture: in 1350 he was writing himself " of the times of the mortalities there have stayed a lot of barren lands and a great part of the term without owner ". The Jewry, activates already in the 13th century, it was important; since he was devoting himself basically to the usury, it was assaulted in 1391. The exploitation of mines of silver in 1342 and of silver and alcohol in 1363 in the valley of la Selva, l'Albiol's term at the time, it provoked clashes with the "pavorde". The trades artisans were multiple: glaziers, quarryman, leather tanners, weavers of wool, linen and it sedates, soap makers, archers, stonecutters, potman and miners. Musicians and jongleurs consist also, a doctor in 1312, one surgeon in 1314 and one pharmacist; there are references to the school in 1343 and to the creation, also in 1343, of a company for the trade of rags. Other tests of his importance in the medieval epoch are the existence of the hospital, the right to coin currency, the fact of having own shield and principally for having turned into the effective capital of the Commune of the Camp.

In the 15th century the culture of the hazel was increased. In 1437 it remembered to re-do the way up to the port of Tarragona and in 1538 the one that was going to Salou; in 1472 Greek wine was elaborated; in 1503 the privilege of market was obtained in every Thursday and of fair the day of Saint Simón and Saint Judas. In the 16th century it took importance the culture of the mulberry for the supply of the worms of sedates, activity that was kept active up to the 18th century. In 1640, during the war dels Segadors, was occupied by the French troops that later gave good results the population to the Castilian troops. In 1641 they were occupied again by Philippe de la Mothe's troops.

 

Places of Interest

El Castell (The castle)

It concerned to the "Pavordía" of the archbishopric of Tarragona, and built at the end of the 12th century. It was a lordly residence, but it was recovering, principally, as store of the fruits and of the tithes. In the half of the 19th century, the castle of la Selva would happen in property or usufruct of the Common one of the village. In the entry, for the face this one, there is a source of the 15th century with a purely ornamental series of arches of sandstone.

Els Ponts (The Bridges)

Original aqueduct of s. XIIIth that was constructed to raise the water of the Rec to the wall of the villa to supply the Molí of the Canal of the court of the Carnisseria, to the wall of the castle. In one of the walls a commemorative tablet appears with a text written in Latin that refers to the works of coating stone of the Irrigation that, begun in 1539, give each other finished in the year 1557.

Casa de la Vila (Town hall)

The current building of the Town Hall is one of the most interesting of the people. It has the structure of mansion of the 15th century. In the ground floor it has arches of unload. In the front, door "adovellada" of round arch and Gothic window biforada and trilobulada in the first floor. Quite of ends of the 15th century. In the top part of the door there is the shield of the Montserrat-Vilafranca, of the year 1628.

Convent de Saint Agustín

It was raised in 1598 by the common one of the village. From his foundation, diverse communities have happened: agustinos, jesuits, claretians and missionary evangelical.

The cloister distinguishes, or rather, both wings from one of few Renaissance existing cloisters in Catalonia. Following a trace of Pere Blai, Joan Vaguer it was contracting the works in 1632, but only it realized the low galleries; they are of the environment of 1674 and the terminal cover of 1714. The used material was the stone of "sablón". Both existing wings (north and west) present double gallery: the low one is Doric and has cover of sections formed by Roman edge; the Superior, with double pace of arcades of ionic order, has a work of few quality.

Convent de Saint Rafael

The Carmelite barefooted Parents, with the push testamentad of Rafael Ripollès (1575-1635), were initiating the construction of a convent in the village selvatana the year 1636. The constructive activity in the villa was notable: Saint Agustín and the parochial church. Saint's Rafael church was blessed in 1696 and it follows the trace of that of the Josepets de Gràcia of Barcelona. In 1846 there took charge the sisters of Saint Vicente de Paul, and up to today, it works like to college.

El Pont Alt (Major bridge)

It is the most visible work of the (Rec) Irrigation that leads the water to the villa of the Selva del Camp. It is a slender construction of stone united with mortar with an arch of carpanel, that was constructed to penetrate the water across saving the bed of the watercourse. It measures 12,70 m of height and 57 m of length.

Traditionally known as the pont dels Moors. It cannot add the date of construction, but yes that we can affirm the existence in the 12th century, since it is mentioned in a document of the year 1209 as pont superiur (major bridge). In one of them walls a commemorative plate figures of his restoration in 1567.

In front of la Resclosa (Sluice) (then still not constructed), there was a mill, where the water that was going out, after having realized his labor, could not return to the irrigation of the village and was getting lost for the watercourse. It is for this motive that the millers helped by the jurors of the villa, constructed the bridge, a bit down below of the mill, in which still today we can observe the foundations of the alive rock in every side.

Auditorium of Saint Llúcia

Saint Llúcia and Saint Jaume were constructed as chapel of a new hospital that it was raising in la Seva del Camp during the second quarter of the 14th century.

Gothic church placed next to the building of the hospital, inside the walls of the village, showing his western front to the street of the Hospital, to few meters of the street Major.

Of rectangular plant type lounge, with 17 meters of maximum length, 8 meters of width and 5,30 of height. The walls are of masonry reinforced by ashlars in the corners. Internally, the props are of section squared with half a column attached and distributed in four sections in his beginning: the arches are pointed. The ceiling is angular to double slope and of wood. The only ornamentation that exists they are a few capitals attached to the props of the head-board. In the work that of Paretdelgada had been imitated, both in the materials and in the style, though Saint Llúcia ensued from minors proportions. The props that support the arch of the head-board are very similar.

Ermitage de Saint Pere del Puig

There stay few remains of the Romanesque building, reformed in different occasions during s. The XIIIth. The French troops it strengthened in 1811 and Carlist remained practically destroyed during her first War.

Escorralons

They are a few narrowest streets where the water of the rain was escaping. It is possible to do a picturesque alternative itinerary for these alleys of the left part of the ancient core.

The watrecourse of la Selva

That it is born as a result of the confluence of three ravines (that of the Font Major, that of the Salt and that of Gatellar) in the point called, for this motive, they Three Aigües (Three Waters), the ecosystem that agrees is rich in flora and fauna and there deserves a walk (the former one I walk now has turned into the road that joins la Selva with Vilaplana). In the limit of the term there raise els Tres Pins (Three pines), beautiful copies of pinaceas, and relatively nearby, already within l'Aleixar, we can contemplate one of the monumental trees of Catalonia, the oak of Borbó's mas

Sanctuary of Paretdelgada

The Sanctuary of Saint Maria de Paretdelgada gets up to four quilómetros of the people, towards Vilallonga, and in a place where the archaeological excavations have showed the existence of an important Roman villa. Documented in the 12th century, repairs were done during the later centuries: in 1313 the house of the hermit was constructed; in the 16th century the choir and the sacristy and the Hotel and catering business; in the 18th century the chapel of the Holiest. In 1766, because of a fire, many reforms had to be realized. The current decoration is of the artist Grau-Garriga (1963). In his interior we can see capitals with floral decorations and some brackets.

Tower de les Clavagueras

Named with this meaning in a writing of 1311. In this point, the waste water was beginning towards Cassans's torrent.

Tower de Baró

So called Tower d'en Baixa in a document of 1371, happens to be known as that of the Sun of the Villa. The most modern name of Baró's Tower comes from the proprietary family, the Magrinyà. In 1723, Pau Magrinyà was councilman of the Jungle and gentleman and baron of the Montoliva, Vilallonga's parish, the shield of which it appears in the front of the house that gives to the street Major. 

General sight, about both surviving towers of the former wall. Of the muraille ancienne

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