Village
Puig-reig is a town of the Berguedà, situated on the banks of the river Llobregat, known for the textile colonies of Puig-reig and Vidal. Documented since 907 in the consecration deed of the church of Sant Martí, its castle belonged to the viscounts of the Berguedà; the troubadour Guillem de Berguedà, the last of that lineage, bequeathed it in 1187 to the Order of the Temple, which established here the commandery of Berguedà i Cerdanya until 1312, after which it passed to the Order of the Hospital. Until the 19th century it was a small settlement around the castle and scattered farmsteads; with industrialisation up to seven colonies emerged, among them the Vidal colony and the Cal Pons colony. It also preserves the Romanesque church of Sant Martí, with mural paintings. It has 4565 inhabitants (INE 2025).
Monument
The castle of Puig-reig stands on a hill beside the Llobregat river, above the village of the same name, in the Berguedà, and is declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional (Spain's highest level of heritage protection); at its foot stands the Romanesque church of Sant Martí, from the 12th century. It formed part of the line of fortresses that, from the year 798, organised the Hispanic March along the Llobregat and Cardener rivers, and it already existed at the end of the 9th century; the first documentary reference dates from 907, with the consecration of Sant Martí. It belonged to the viscounts of Berguedà, whose last holder, the troubadour Guillem de Berguedà, bequeathed it in 1187 to the Order of the Temple, seat of its commandery of the Berguedà and Cerdanya until 1312, when it passed to the Order of the Hospital. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was converted into a farmhouse, losing its military structure.
Monument
The tower of Merola, or castle of Merola, stands in the municipality of Puig-reig (Berguedà), on the banks of the Llobregat, declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional. It is documented as a fortress from the year 983; the site formed part of the territory of the castle of Puig-reig in the 9th and 10th centuries, and its lords are recorded as vicars of that castle and protectors of the monastery of Sant Pere de la Portella. In the 12th century Bernat de Merola stood out, a friend of the troubadour Guillem de Berguedà, who probably had the tower built; his domains passed in 1225 to Pere d'Olvan. Only the north wall of the keep survives, popularly known as “la torre dels Moros”: it is 4.95 metres high, with a wall 1.20 thick, of an almost square plan and three storeys high.
Monument
The Colònia Pons, or Cal Pons, is one of the seven textile colonies of Puig-reig, founded in 1875 by the industrialist José Pons y Enrich and declared a Bien Cultural de Interés Nacional in 2017. In 1876 it obtained the use of the waters of the Llobregat and built the sluice, the canal and the factory, opened in 1880, together with the workers' housing, enclosed by a wall that controlled the entry and exit of the workers under curfew. It came to bring together up to 400 families and maintained an intense cultural life, with a school, a theatre and its own magazine, until it closed in 1995. Notable is the church of San José, from 1877, eclectic and neo-Gothic, with a tower, crypt and family pantheon, along with the historicist houses of the Torre Vella and the Torre Nueva, from the late 19th century.
Monument
The Colònia Vidal, or Cal Vidal, is a former textile colony conceived as a self-sufficient settlement on the banks of the Llobregat, in Puig-reig (Berguedà), with housing for the workers, a church and a school, today home to the Museu de la Colònia Vidal. It was founded by Ignasi Vidal i Balet, who bought the land in 1882; the works, directed by the engineer Vicenç Vidal i Casacuberta, began in 1896 and continued until 1901, and the factory operated for 79 years, until it closed in 1980. Alongside the factory, the turbine and the canal, it brings together housing of different types, a church, a convent, a school and a cinema-theatre; around 1940 the church of the Puríssima Concepció, in neo-medievalist style, and the Torre de l'amo were built, a residence that underscored the owner's status before the workers.
Activity
The Festa Major of Puig-reig has no fixed date: it is celebrated around Pasqua Granada (fifty days after Easter Sunday) and is traditionally the first festa major of the Berguedà calendar. It stands out for its strong musical component, linked to the presence of the Polifònica de Puig-reig choir.
Historical milestone
Throughout the nineteenth century factories with their own waterfall and complete settlements for the workers were raised beside the river, with church, school and company store. Puig-reig concentrates the greatest density of colonies in Catalonia.