Editing Ripoll (section)

== History ==
[[file:(Barcelona) Dovella de Ripoll - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.jpg|thumb|left| ''Dovella de Ripoll '' [[Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya]]]]
The first traces of humans inhabiting the area date from the [[Bronze Age]] and can be seen in form of [[dolmen]]s such 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]]. The area also has tombs from the late [[Rome|Roman]] occupation age and some belonging to the [[Visigoths]].

It has a famous [[Benedictine]] monastery built in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style, [[Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll|Santa Maria de Ripoll]], founded by the count [[Wilfred the Hairy]]  in 879. The count used it as a centre to repopulate the region after conquering it. In the [[High Middle Ages]], its castle, the [[Castle of Saguardia]], located in the county of Les Llosses was ruled by the [[Saguàrdia]] family, of which [[Ponç de la Guàrdia]] was a famous [[troubadour]].

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. The furnaces of Ripoll were a prime source of nails for the peninsula. 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. That  success as a manufactory of firearms brought frequent trouble to the city. French invasions in 1794, 1809, 1812, and 1813 crippled the city industries. However, the final and utter destruction of Ripoll, resulting from mines and blasting, occurred in 1839 during the [[Carlist Wars]]. Due to the loss of records and archives, not much is known of Ripoll and its industry to this day.