The historic archive of Castell del Remei in Penelles was transferred to the Generalitat on Wednesday 16 September for incorporation into the Arxiu Comarcal del Pla d’Urgell, the county archive in Mollerussa.

For Pla d’Urgell residents and researchers, the transfer brings records of one of the estates linked to the development of the Canal d’Urgell into the county archive’s collection, alongside material already held on the irrigation infrastructure.

Culture minister Sònia Hernández attended the handover with Castell del Remei owner Tomàs Cusiné, Fundació Castell del Remei president Mireia González and archive director Josep Jordana Sauret.

“Business archives such as this one allow us to understand economic processes, social changes and the evolution of our country better,” Hernández said.

Records of the Girona family and the estate

The collection measures about eight linear metres and mainly covers the first decades and middle third of the 20th century, when the Girona family managed the estate. The family bought Castell del Remei in 1853 and was involved in projects including the Canal d’Urgell, the Banc de Barcelona and railway connections between Zaragoza and Barcelona.

The material documents the estate as an agricultural and industrial operation, as well as the family’s business and property interests in Barcelona.

  • Crop statistics, staff lists, deeds, balance books and meeting minutes.
  • Records concerning the mill, distillery, cooperage, alfalfa-drying plant and forge at Castell del Remei.
  • Correspondence and papers relating to Canal d’Urgell SA, SAFYC, Carbonífera de l’Ebre and the family’s boxes and seats at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

The Arxiu Comarcal del Pla d’Urgell, opened in 2009, is part of the Generalitat’s network of archives and holds 77 documentary collections. Its holdings include the Canal d’Urgell SA archive.

The transfer is intended to establish ongoing collaboration between the Fundació Castell del Remei, created in 2022 to preserve the estate’s heritage, and the Arxiu Comarcal del Pla d’Urgell.

Primary sources: Generalitat de Catalunya - Arxiu Comarcal del Pla d'Urgell. Reported by elliberal.cat.