Calonge

History

The town of Calonge has been inhabited since ancient times. The existence of numerous dolmens and menhirs has shown a preference for the prehistoric cultures of these places. The Iberian settlement of Castell Barri is one of the most important of the time. Earthen Iberian discoveries have shown that this town has an origin no later than the fourth century BC.

The Romans chose this place as a holiday villa. The findings indicate that between the second and fourth centuries, Christians had a major foundry in Calonge and probably also a factory for import trade.

In the eighth century the people began to build the Castle of Calonge, one of the greatest strengths of the Baix Emporda, in the old part of town. The castle was founded by the Counts of Girona for the purpose of monitoring Razia Saracens.

During the 12th century one of the significant Calonge buildings was built—the monastery of Santa Maria del Mar or Collet. The 13th century was the period of greatest splendor of the castle.

A sample of this importance was the granting by the king to create a weekly market to Calonge. Today the castle is a half fortress, half palace. The castle now belongs to the Generalitat of Catalonia.

Another building that survives today is the tower known as Torre Valentina. Located on the waterfront of Sant Antoni de Calonge, this tower was built in order to monitor any attacks from hackers. Access is made through an outside staircase; the tower had neither stairs nor door interiors.

Calonge is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Catalonia, within the province of Gerona, in the region of Lower Emporda.

The population is divided into two parts—a medieval village on a hill and a modern village for a vacation by the sea. The main urban center and the original village is about 4 km distance inland from the bay of Sant Antoni. Some towers and walls of the Castle of Calonge date back to the 13th century.

The modern coast mainly used for vacations is known as Sant Antoni de Calonge and is located between Castillo de Aro and Palamos.

Sant Antoni de Calonge was growing in importanc, so in 1923 they built a church that was dedicated to San Antonio. The Civil War shook the stability of Calonge. Postwar the deep crisis that they faced awhile back led to a decline in the cork industry of Calonge.

The lack of work caused a lot of people to emigrate from the village. The arrival of tourism and later the establishment of democracy made Calonge again grow demographically and economically to become one of the towns of excellence on the Costa Brava.

In the mid-18th century the parish church of Sant Marti was built in the old part of Calonge. It is one of the largest churches in the diocese of Girona. Originally, the church was decorated with a heavy baroque neoclassical style.

In the late 18th century, people began to industrialize Calonge with cork stopper factories. This incorporation into the industrial world definitely brought on a radical change not only the economy, but also in the social lives of the residents. At the beginning of the century, they had not yet considered the beach as a tourism business.