Aguilar de Segarra

Aguilar de Segarra is a municipality at the western edge of the comarca (district) of Bages, bordering on that of Anoia. It lies in a zone that separates the Cardener River basin, into which its waters drain, and the headwaters of the River Anoia, where the high plateaus of Segarra begin. The extension “de Segarra”, which was introduced with the arrival of the railway, derives from its proximity to Els Prats de Rei, the ancient Roman Sigarra. The demarcations of two castles make up the municipality: that of Aguilar, to the north, and Castellar, to the southwest.

The land is rugged and mountainous, entirely surrounded by mountain ranges of differing heights which in places fall to make hills overlooking the valleys and offering magnificent panoramas. To the north, the municipal district is bordered by the Castelltallat Mountains; to the south, the ranges of Soler, Maçana and Grevalosa; and the Còdol-rodon mountain range, in which none of the peaks is more than 700 metres high, rises up in the interior of the municipality.

The region’s waters are collected by the Rajadell stream, which rises in the Aguilar district and, after being joined by various torrents, runs into the River Cardener. Though in years gone by this river powered several watermills, its flow-rates are conditioned by irregular rainfall patterns typical of a climate of transition towards the continental characteristics of the Segarra plateaus.

The region’s natural vegetation consists of pine and oak woods, with the presence of holm oak in some zones. In the past, these woodlands were the source of great wealth, as they provided the raw materials to produce lumber, beams, firewood, charcoal, bark, pitch and mushrooms. Wooded areas alternated with agricultural belts in which cereals, mostly barley, were grown, and barren, stony land which in the past was covered in vines and olive trees. Today it is overgrown with brushwood in which numerous aromatic plants may be found, including lavender, rosemary and thyme.