Manresa is the capital of the Bages comarca (county), located in the geographic centre of Catalonia and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. Saint Ignatius of Loyola stopped to pray in the town on his way back from Montserrat in 1522. As such, the town is a place of pilgrimage for Catholics. The comarca (county) of Bages lies in the center of Catalonia. ... This is a list of the comarques (singular comarca) of Catalonia. ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Catalan and Spanish In Val dAran, also Aranese. ... It has been suggested that Textile manufacturing be merged into this article or section. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... This article refers to the material. ... Ignatius of Loyola Saint Ignatius of Loyola (December 24, 1491? – July 31, 1556), baptized Íñigo López de Loyola, was the founder of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order commonly known as the Jesuits that was established to strengthen the Church, initially against Protestantism. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador Hernán Cortés. ...

It is believed the comarcal name "Bages" comes from a corruption of the Latin "Bacchus" due to the extensive production of wine in the area. The wine was grown mainly in terraced vineyards, and many of these old terraces can be seen today. Wine ceased to be the main product of the area as a consequence of the phylloxera, but is still a very important part of the Manresa/Bages economy. Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of grapes and grape juice. ... Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, family Phylloxeridae, superfamily Aphidoidea) is a serious pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. ...

During the Napoleonic invasion, the volunteer troops of Manresa (sometent in Catalan) defeated the French troops in the Bruch Pass (June 1808), but the retreating French proceeded to burn and demolish much of the town. After the expulsion of Naopleon's troops, Manresans rebuilt the town using the rubble. This is the reason for the strange "jerry-built" look of the city. The Peninsular War (1808–1814) (known as War of Independence in Spain, as French Invasions in Portugal, as Guerre dEspagne in France and as Frenchs War in Catalonia) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Jewish history

In the 12th century Manresa was said to have contained 500 Jewish families, most of which lived in a narrow lane called "Grau dels Jueus," near the town hall; their cemetery, still called "Fossana dels Jueus," was outside the city. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Jews there were engaged in manufacturing, trading (including slaves), money-lending (at the rate of 20 per cent, the usual interest at that time), and in the cultivation of their vineyards and estates. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 14 million followers (as of 2005 [1]). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Slavery is a condition in which one person, known as a slave, is under the control of another. ... A vineyard Vineyard with bird netting Wine grapes with netting as protection against birds A vineyard (vignoble in French, vigna or vigneto in Italian, vinha in Portuguese, viña or viñedo in Spanish, Weinberg in German) is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table...

The hostility of the Christians towards the Jews which prevailed throughout Catalonia was also manifested in Manresa. In 1325 the Christian inhabitants of the town tried to prevent the Jews from baking their Passover bread, so that the latter were obliged to appeal to the King for protection. The Jews in Manresa did not escape the general persecution of 1391, and many of them professed to accept Christianity. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Passover (Hebrew: פסח; transliterated as Pesach or Pesah), also called חג המצות (Chag HaMatzot - Festival of Matzot) is a Jewish holiday beginning on the 15th day of Nisan which commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. ... Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as crypto-Jews. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering...

After 1414 comparatively few Jews remained in the town, and in 1492 they sold their property for whatever they could get, and left the country. At the beginning of the 15th century Manresa had 30,000 inhabitants; three centuries later it contained barely one-fifth of that number. Several members of the Zabarra (Sabara) family lived in Manresa. The town is not mentioned in the "Shebeṭ Yehudah." (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

External links

• Official web site of l'Ajuntament de Manresa (in Catalan)
• Guide of the city of de Manresa (in Catalan)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...