Published in 19 de December de 2019
On December 21, the tradition that has been running on Saturday before Christmas will be repeated from 1584. The Mayor of Manresa will give 12 capons to Baron de Balsareny, and later there will be various activities in the castle of Balsareny
This Saturday, December 21, the Mayor of Manresa, Valentí Junyent, and the Representative of the Junta de la Sèquia, Josep Alabern, will recreate the historical tradition of handing over the 12 capons to the Baron de Balsareny, as a payment for the ‘authorization of the felling of trees of their property. The event will take place in Balsareny Castle.
The event will begin at 10.30 am, with the beginning of the parade of the base in the castle. Later, the mayor will deliver the capons, according to tradition, and the captain will deliver the capons. Later, at 12 noon, the castle’s doors will open to everyone, and you will be able to enjoy guided tours, children’s workshops, and a concert by the White Heaven Vocal Group. From 12.30 p.m., there will also be the presentation of the new giants of Balsareny, in Bernat and la Blanca.
The story of the capons
The tradition begins in the 14th century, when King Pere III gave the city of Manresa permission to build a dam on the river Llobregat to stop the water and divert some of it to the Sèquia Canal.
In 1583, a heavy flood carried the dam of the Manresans, just below the castle of Balsareny. The incident prompted an emergency intervention and Manresa workers cut down, without a permit, trees belonging to the baron of Balsareny Castle. The baron put a lawsuit in the city of Manresa in front of the lieutenant of Catalonia and the Royal Hearing, and won it.
That is why in 1584 a pact was signed, in which the Manresans were allowed to cut down baron trees, whenever they needed, and in return they were forced to pay a census of twelve capons. The census was paid until the confiscation abolished titles and royalties. However, at the beginning of the democratic councils the act of capons was restored, as an example of a twinning between Balsareny and Manresa.
This symbolic act is of great importance because thanks to the Sèquia, the city of Manresa was able to prosper economically and, at present, the water from the canal is the one that Aigües de Manresa is drinking water to cover the city of Manresa and other villages in the region. Bages.
