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Pond of Ivars i Vila-sana

Ivars d'Urgell, Pla d'Urgell, Lleida

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Historical milestones

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Pond of Ivars i Vila-sana

Nature · Ivars d'Urgell, Pla d'Urgell, Lleida

The Estany d'Ivars i Vila-sana, located between these two municipal terms of the Pla d'Urgell, is together with that of Banyoles one of the largest inland wetlands in Catalonia, with a surface area of nearly 157 hectares. Its origin is ancient, from the accumulation of water over an impermeable bed with no lateral outlet, but the construction of the Canal d'Urgell in 1861 multiplied its size to 135 hectares, turning it into a centre of social and economic life for the neighbouring villages, with much-prized duck hunting and eel fishing. After a first failed attempt in 1914, the lake was finally drained in 1951 to gain farmland, against the popular will; it remained alive in the memory of the comarca until its recovery, which began in 2005.

Photo: Ytub89 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What to see and do in Ivars d'Urgell