Guardiola de Berguedà facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Guardiola de Berguedà
Municipality
St. Laurence's church, Guardiola
Flag Coat of arms
Guardiola de Berguedà Location in Province of Barcelona Show map of Province of Barcelona Guardiola de Berguedà Location in Spain Show map of Spain
Country	Spain
Community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Comarca	Berguedà
Area
• Total	61.7 km2 (23.8 sq mi)
Elevation	720 m (2,360 ft)
Population  (2018)
• Total	887
• Density	14.376/km2 (37.23/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Guardiolenc, guardiolenca

Guardiola de Berguedà is a small town in Catalonia, Spain. It's known as a municipality, which is like a local government area. The town is located where the Bastareny and Llobregat rivers meet. This area is in the northern part of a region called Berguedà.

Guardiola de Berguedà is an important place for local businesses. This means it has not lost as many people as other towns nearby. People often move away from smaller towns for jobs, but Guardiola has stayed strong. Mining for a type of coal called lignite is also a key part of the town's economy.

The town is easy to reach by road. The C-1411 road connects it to Berga and the Cadí tunnel. Another road, the B-402, links it to La Pobla de Lillet and Castellar de n'Hug. The municipality also has a large separate area to its north-west.

The Riutort Asphalt Mine

Mine entrance

At the start of the 1900s, there was an interesting mine in Riutort. It was an asphalt mine, which is quite rare! Two Frenchmen, Jules Claviez and Philipp Petit, owned it. They dug out a special kind of rock called bituminous loam. This rock contains a substance similar to asphalt.

Workers used mules to carry this rock to a factory. There, they used a process called distillation to get petrol from the asphalt. This was a very early way to get fuel!

Why the Mine Closed

The mine did not stay open for long. It closed just a few years after it started. This was because it did not produce enough petrol to be profitable.

Visiting the Mine Today

Today, you can visit the Riutort asphalt mine! You can go on a guided tour deep inside. Visitors go about 340 meters (1,115 feet) underground. You can see the long tunnels and even smell the petroleum dripping from the rock walls. It's a unique chance to see a piece of industrial history.

Protecting Nature in the Mine

The mine is also home to many animals. These include Pyrenean newts, salamanders, and bats. To keep these creatures safe, some parts of the mine are closed to visitors. This helps protect their natural home.

Population of Guardiola de Berguedà

The number of people living in Guardiola de Berguedà has changed over the years. In 1900, there were 589 people. The population grew quite a bit by 1970, reaching 1,848 people. By 2007, the population was 948.

See also

In Spanish: Guardiola de Berguedá para niños