New municipal cemetery at Castellnou de Bages. Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The thousand-year-old town of Castellnou de Bages, the centre of a municipality with 500 inhabitants living scattered about in farmhouses and housing developments, is virtually deserted. The town council wants to revitalise it by promoting its historical importance and its public spaces. There modelling of the old cemetery ,next to the square, is part of this strategy. The decision was taken to establish a new cemetery using the neighbouring ruins of the old rectory, a building that dates back to the 10th century, which was set on fire in 1936 and has remain ed abandoned ever since. This approach has meant that the remains of the rectory have been safeguarded and their sentimental value, as well as their importance as evidence of history, have been transferred to the new site.