Montcortes

Geography:

The town is accessed by the local road that joins Gerri de la Sal, 12 km east of Montcortès, with La Pobleta de Bellveí 6 km to the west and already in the Vall Fosca, in the neighboring region of Pallars Jussà.

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A climate straddling the pre-Pyrenean and Pyrenean climates offers very good conditions for agriculture and livestock. An average annual temperature of 10.10 °C and an average annual rainfall of 761 mm distributed throughout the year with some snowy days.

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History:

The presence of multiple megalithic constructions scattered around and archaeological remains in cavities in the area, evidence human settlements as early as the Neolithic (around 4,000 BC) that revolve around Lake Montcortès, with spaces suitable for agriculture and livestock. .

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Archaeological surveys in the area, in addition to locating prehistoric materials, also document the presence of materials from the Roman era, such as ceramics and glass dating from the 1st and end of the 2nd centuries, to other materials from the end of the 4th and 5th centuries, during the Roman Empire. Western Roman.

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After the fall of the Roman Empire, the counties of the Hispanic March were established by the Carolingian Empire, in the 8th century, to defend themselves against the Saracen incursions of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

This is how the independent County of Pallars emerged in the 9th century until its integration, in 1480, into the Catalan-Aragonese crown of King Ferdinand the Catholic, who created the Marquisate of Pallars in 1491, under the rule of the Counts of Cardona._cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_

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Until the extinction of the manors at the beginning of the 19th century, most of the term of Montcortès belonged to the Marquises of Pallars.

In 1812 the municipality of Montcortès de Pallars was created, which included the towns of Ancs, Bretui, Cabestany, Mentui, Peracalç, Sellui and its capital, Montcortès,  until its integration into the new municipality of Baix Pallars created in 1969.

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Economy:

The economic base has always been the use and exploitation of natural resources: agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry. These traditional activities have greatly decreased in recent years and the current agricultural area is basically dedicated to meadows and fodder for cattle and horses.

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The current economy revolves in addition to livestock, around tourism since the landscape is rich, varied and increasingly appreciated by people who live in cities, also counting on the attraction of the Espai Natural del Estany de Montcortès.

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Demography:

The population of Montcortès in the 1553 census consisted of 28 fires, counting about 5 people per fire, there are 140 inhabitants. In the 50-60s of the 20th century, with industrialization, poor infrastructure and worse services, the depopulation of the town accelerated.  In 1970, the census was already reduced to 60 inhabitants and 26 in 2013. In 2020 there are 24 inhabitants registered in Montcortès, although in reality and living all year in the town, currently, they are reduced to 13.

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Like most of the towns in the Pyrenees, depopulation and aging is one of the main challenges, along with the improvement of infrastructure and services.

It must be taken into account that these few inhabitants are also the guarantors of the environmental balance, taking care of the maintenance of forests, roads and the territory in general, which supposes a great burden for the reduced budgets of the town.

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Buildings of interest:

In a prominent place at the top of the town, there is the building popularly known as the Abbey, which would correspond to the old castle of Montcortès, of which there is already news in the 11th century. Appearing in 1632 among the possessions of the Duke of Cardona, Marques de Pallars.

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Just below the Abbey is the parish church of Sant Martí, an 18th-century building with a single nave covered with a barrel vault and gabled roof. On the north side of the façade stands the bell tower with an octagonal section crowned by a pyramidal spire.

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In the same town there are also the chapel of San Sebastián and the ruins of the chapel of the Mare de Déu dels Àngels, both also from the 18th century. And about 800 m south of the town, are the ruins of the hermitage of San Miguel, in the forest of the same name.

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