Costa Dorada Interior. 07 July 2024.
Salou has a long history, not only because of the Iberian remains (town of La Cella) or Romans (villa de Barenys) that can be visited but also because it has had the title of town since 1194. No less than 830 years since King Alfonso II of Aragon granted this founding document and that is why Salou remembers this anniversary with various acts of historical recreation until July 7.
In 1194 Ximeno de Artusella received the population charter of Salou from monarch Alfonso II of Aragon. This document established the municipality as the first market town in the area and had the objective of protecting this territory and the natural port of Salou, through repopulation, to activate the economy and development of the area. However, this endowment was challenged by the archbishop of Tarragona in 1197 and became his property, carrying out the same functions.
The natural port of Salou had great importance in the commercial, political and military sphere, as shown by the fact that King Jaume I chose the Salou port when conquest of Mallorca.
The book “Carta de Población de Salou” by Maite Cirera and the contributions of the local historian Pedro Otiña have served to present to the municipality this important document of the history of the capital of the Costa Daurada and the replica that is exhibited in the Town Hall and that the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados, has discovered in this presentation event.
The commemoration of the Salou Population Charter was also celebrated during the weekend of July 5, 6 and 7 with a medieval market in the Francesc Germà square, next to the Luminous Fountain, and workshops, children's games and the performance theatrical that recreates the moment of the donation of the Population Charter, among other recreational and cultural activities.
