Logbook · 3 places

What to see and do in Alforja

What to see and do in Alforja (Baix Camp, Tarragona): 3 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Historical milestones

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Spain › Catalonia › Tarragona › Baix Camp › Alforja

What to see and do in Alforja

Alforja
Village
Alforja is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, with 2,024 inhabitants, situated at the foot of a mountainous area, on the pass linking Reus and the Camp de Tarragona with the Priorat and the Prades mountains; its name probably comes from the Arabic al-hurga, opening or separation. It originated as an old Arab farmstead devoted to silver mining; the first written documents date from 1152, and in 1154 the town and its church are mentioned in a bull of Pope Anastasius IV. The founding charter, from 1158, was granted by Count Ramon Berenguer IV and Bishop Bernat Tort. Phylloxera devastated Alforja's vineyards at the end of the 19th century; the hazelnut tree took their place and became the dominant crop of the Baix Camp.
Castle and Walled Enclosure of Alforja
Monument
The castle of Alforja, probably of Roman origin, was later used as a residence by the archbishops of Tarragona. The walls surrounding the village remained standing until 1931, but almost entirely disappeared in the 1960s; today only a gate and some remains of the castle itself survive.
Replacement of the vine by the hazelnut tree
Historical milestone
Phylloxera razed at the end of the nineteenth century the vineyards that sustained the economy of the mountain villages. The hazel took their place until it became the dominant crop of the comarca, which today accounts for a good part of the Catalan harvest.