Village
Agramunt is the most important town in the Ribera del Sió and the second-largest population centre in l'Urgell, in Lleida, with 5,653 inhabitants, known for its nougat and chocolate factories, for the plaça del Mercadal and for the castles of its municipality. It was the capital of the county of Urgell until 1314, a privilege that allowed it to mint its own coinage from 1200; conquered in 1070 by Ermengol IV of Urgell, it received its charter of settlement in 1163 and underwent successive occupations, from the Reapers' War to the War of Independence. The town is presided over by the parish church of the Holy Spirit and Saint Mary, Romanesque and from the mid-12th century, a National Monument since 1931; its 13th-century portal is crowned by a sculptural group of the Virgin and Child paid for in 1283 by the weavers' guild.
Monument
The church of Santa María in Agramunt, declared a bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection) since 1931, is documented from the late 11th century, although the present building was built in the 12th, when Armengol VII granted the charter of settlement to Agramunt. Of basilical plan, it has three naves ending in three semicircular apses, in whose construction artists from Languedoc took part. It is entered through two Romanesque doorways; the western one, from the mid-13th century, is one of the finest examples of the Lérida sculptural school, with eight archivolts and a high-relief group of the Virgin and Child, whose installation in 1283 was funded by the city's weavers. The bell tower, Gothic, was completed at the end of the 14th century. Restorations since 1953 have restored the church's original appearance.
Monument
A fortified 13th-century castle built around a 2nd-century Roman tower, in the settlement of Montclar d'Urgell; it was remodelled in the 17th century with a Renaissance façade. Montclar, known as Montclar d'Urgell to distinguish it from its namesake in Berguedà, was an independent municipality until 1857, when it joined la Donzell d'Urgell, les Puelles and Rocabertí de Sant Salvador to form the municipality of Doncell, incorporated into Agramunt in 1970. The castle, remodelled in the 17th century to turn it into a manor house, was restored in 1970; in 1831 it belonged to the Marquis of Palmerola. The settlement's parish church is dedicated to Sant Jaume, and through Montclar the canal d'Urgell runs partly underground, through the Montclar mine.
Monument
The town hall of Agramunt (Urgell), built in the early 18th century, declared a bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection), erected in the Plaza de la Iglesia to replace the old medieval communal building. Of quadrangular plan with ground floor, upper floor and attics, its façade combines at the lower level a porch of round arches on pillars, and on the main floor a triple balcony; on the central one, above the door, the town's coat of arms is set amid rusticated (encoixinat) decoration, and above it a gallery of round-arched openings separated by a cornice. In its composition it is akin to the town halls of Cervera and Manresa; the façade bears the date 1761 engraved on the entrance door and the town's coat of arms with that of 1703.
Monument
El Pilar d'Almenara is a Romanesque-style watchtower built in the 11th century in the settlement of Almenara Alta, within the municipal territory of Agramunt (Urgell). It stands on the summit of a mountain 459 metres high, at the highest point of the serra d'Almenara, beside a geodetic marker, and its ascent is included in the list of the 100 cims of the Federació d'Entitats Excursionistes de Catalunya.
Monument
The castle of la Donzell, which gives the village its name, is located in la Donzell d'Urgell, a settlement attached to the municipality of Agramunt (Urgell), situated on the ridge of the serra de Montclar. Today it serves as a community hall. La Donzell was an independent municipality until 1857, when it joined Montclar d'Urgell, les Puelles and Rocabertí de Sant Salvador in the municipality of Doncell, which became part of Agramunt in 1970. The network of alleys and small squares in the settlement preserves the original medieval layout.
Monument
Castle of Muslim origin conquered in 1070 by Ermengol III, documented since 1051 as a possession of the counts of Urgell; it had two walled precincts with an 885-meter perimeter and twenty-five towers. It surrendered in 1413 to the troops of Ferran d'Antequera and was demolished in the mid-17th century, its stones reused in the chapel of the Socors de Santa Maria.
Monument
A large arcaded square, the heart of the town of Agramunt, which preserves the original and complete configuration of the town planning and architecture of 19th-century neoclassical squares in Catalonia. It stands out for the harmony and continuity of the layout of its plan and for the typology of its buildings, qualities that led to it being declared a bien cultural de interés nacional (Catalonia's highest level of heritage protection) in October 2015, with a recognition that transcends the local and comarcal sphere.
Curiosity
Torró d'Agramunt is a type of turrón made in the Lleida municipality of Agramunt with hazelnuts or almonds, sugar, honey and egg white, presented in round or rectangular tablets sandwiched with wafer paper in various sizes. The first written mention dates from 1741, in letters of a local noble family that cite seven turrón-makers in the town. It has held Protected Geographical Indication status since 2002, regulated by the Generalitat, and is registered in the EU register. Its paste has a golden-brown colour, fragile and crunchy, with a minimum almond or hazelnut content of between 46% and 60% depending on whether it is of extra or supreme category; to make it, the nuts are toasted and peeled and cooked with honey, sugars and egg white before being mixed together.
Activity
Festa Major of Agramunt, celebrated on the first weekend of September in the town of nougat and the Plaça del Mercadal.
Historical milestone
Ermengol IV of Urgell took Agramunt in 1070 and the villa received a charter of settlement in 1163, with franchises that attracted settlers to this frontier stronghold on the Sió. The document fixed the regime of the villa throughout the Middle Ages.
Historical milestone
From the year 1200 Agramunt minted its own coinage and came to be the capital of the comital mint until 1314. The monetary activity reflects the commercial weight that the villa had within the county of Urgell during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Activity
Event created in 1988 that each autumn fills Agramunt with turrón and chocolate workshops. It combines direct sale, making demonstrations and tastings, and functions as a showcase of the confectionery sector of the villa.
Food and drink
Thick chocolate made with stone-ground cocoa, sugar and flour, which dissolves in milk and becomes almost solid when it cools. The bakeries of Agramunt have produced it since long ago alongside turrón, with which it shares trade and season.