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The village of Sant Martí Sarroca has grown under the
castle built on the hill (the hill of the rock). The
site, located at the confluence of several streams
(Foix river and Pontons torrent, mainly) has been
inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the
remains found from the Neolithic and, especially, the
Roman era (graves, windmills and kilns).
Since the Middle Ages, it became a consolidated
settlement. First of all, at the hill where most of
the population remained until the late XIX century. At
the castle, stones and arches from the Visigoths have
been found. The town has its own letter of
municipality since 1385, but during the Middle Ages
its population was not extensive. It is important to
bear in mind that this place was at that time a
borderland between Christians and Muslims and,
therefore, a risky area.
In the late XIX century, the City Hall,
the schools, the courthouse, the cemetery and the
shops were still at the top of the hill. The flatlands
were an isolated area where only some farmhouses had
been built, such as Cal Possastre.
With the growth of the town outside the
castle and beneath the hill, some of the first streets
created were the Ferran Muñoz and the
Casetes (small houses). The old road linking the
villages of Vilafranca and La Llacuna passed through
these streets. The construction of the present road in
1880 stimulated the expansion of the town and the
development of new streets. Cal Lluís was built during
this process in la font street (which means the
fountain street). |
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