Ripoll
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This article is about the town in Catalonia: for the river of the same name, see Ripoll (river).
Ripoll is the capital of the comarca (county) of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia. It is located 691 metres above the sea, on the confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border. The population was 10,908 in 1996.
The first traces of humans inhabiting the area date from the Bronze Age and can be seen in form of dolmens as those found in El Sot de Dones Mortes or in Pardinella. This area was later used by peoples from the Atlantic culture to store bronze weapons, and as a passway from the Catalan Central Depression to the Pyrenees. There are also tombs from the late Roman occupation age and some belonging to the Visigoths.
It has a famous Benedictine monastery built in the Romanesque style, founded by the count Wilfred the Hairy (called Guifré el Pilós in Catalan) in 879, who used it as a centre to repopulate the region after conquering it.
An abundance of coal and iron ore, coupled with the ample water supply of the rivers Ter and Freser, encouraged a metal-working industry in the early Middle Ages. A prime source of nails for the peninsula came from the furnaces of Ripoll. Later, pole arms and crossbows, always in demand, were added to Ripoll’s exports. Ripoll enjoyed a reputation throughout Europe for the production of firearms. Unfortunately, that very success as a manufactory of firearms brought endless trouble to the city. French invasions in 1794, 1809, 1812, and 1813 crippled the city industries. However, the final and utter destruction of Ripoll from mines and blasting occurred in 1839 during the Carlist Wars. Due to the loss of records and achieves, not much is known of Ripoll and its industry to this day.
| edit | Municipalities of Ripollès |  |
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Campdevànol | Campelles | Camprodon | Gombrèn | Llanars | Les Llosses | Molló | Ogassa | Pardines | Planoles | Queralbs | Ribes de Freser | Ripoll | Sant Joan de les Abadesses | Sant Pau de Segúries | Setcases | Toses | Vallfogona de Ripollès | Vilallonga de Ter |
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