Santa Margarida i els Monjos



Santa Margarida i els Monjos is a municipality situated in the south-east part of Alt Penedès county, in the pre-coastal plain, with the River Foix running through it. It has surface area of 17.39 square kilometres and 4,800 inhabitants, as of 30 July 2000. The municipality has a balance between plain and mountains and benefits from a typically Mediterranean climate and vegetation. It is made up of ten urban centres and small developments, the largest being Els Monjos, la Ràpita and Cal Rubió, in addition to various farmhouses dotted around the municipality.

Santa Margarida i els Monjos is 50 kilometres away from both Barcelona and Tarragona, and is connected by two major road networks: the A-7 motorway running from Jonquera to Valencia (entry and exit roads two kilometres from the town centre) and the A-2 motorway to Lleida and Saragossa (11 kilometres away); there is also the N-340 main road, running from Cádiz to the French border. The town is on the railway line from St. Vicenç de Calders to Manresa, having a station in the Els Monjos district. This communications network allowed the municipality to develop from the beginning of the 20th century with considerable industrial activity and high residential growth. Our municipality has spots of great natural beauty: Sant Llorenç Well, the Pins Alts wood, the Cal Bruna stream, the River Foix, and so forth, all of them worth a special walk around them for the pleasurable sensations they provide. Remains have been found from various epochs: Iberian, Roman, Arab, etc., bearing witness to very early settlement with a constant presence in the zone, due to the proximity of the major Iberian nucleus of Olèrdola and its location on the Via Augusta. By the mediaeval period the municipality was developing around Santa Margarida del Penedès church, of Romanesque style, and also, in the 13th century, around a flour mill on the banks of the River Foix, owned by the Santes Creus monks. The passage of time has left its mark through various features that form part of the town's history and rich heritage, which visitors can discover as they take a stroll. Amongst them are the castle in which Saint Raimon de Penyafort was born, fortified and with a round tower and mediaeval walls, and the Penyafel chapel, where a gathering is held each year on Easter Monday. The Penedès is Catalonia's leading winemaking county. Santa Margarida i els Monjos has winemakers, wineries and cellars in which one can enjoy aromatic young white wines, pleasant full-bodied red wines and Catalan caves (sparking, champagne style wines). Moreover, the municipality has a great variety of restaurants in which one can savour the rich local and county cuisine, with dishes based on poultry and wine and cava. Visitors can also find in the municipality a considerable variety of cultural events, arising out of the open and festive nature of the people who live in it. The main annual festivals of its towns and the Wine-Must Festival of La Ràpita are just small examples of this rich associative life. Commercial vitality is also in evidence in the weekly market which, Sunday after Sunday attracts the interest of many people in the Penedès and neighbouring counties. Santa Margarida i els Monjos is a municipality which is experiencing a harmonious development of industry, residential settlement and natural surroundings. This balance helps it to be much more than a mere place one passes through, making it a municipality in which one can spend a pleasant time or live life to the full all the year round. - How do you get to Santa Margarida i els Monjos?