page_title: Verdú
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Verdú / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Verdú in 1916. Original caption: "Nova creu de Verdú".Català: Verdú el 1916. Títol original: «Nova creu de Verdú».
context_page_description: Verdú is a village and municipality in the province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain. It is traditionally associated with the Segarra region, but in 1936 was transferred to the comarca of Urgell.
  The municipality covers 36 km². The landscape consists of rolling hills with valleys and plains cultivated with grain, vineyards, and olive and almond trees. Small forests of pine and oak are scattered throughout the area. The Segarra-Garrigues canal and the Montblanc-Tàrrega highway both bisect the municipality, passing to the west of the town.
  Today Verdú is known for wine, its traditional black pottery, its historic buildings such as its Castle and the Church of Santa Maria, its notable native St. Peter Claver, and recently its toy museum, that closed in 2013 and was converted to an art gallery.
context_section_description: The town is mentioned in a document from 1273. It is believed the name is derived from a Celtic name like Virodunum, meaning a fortress. It was subject to the Poblet monastery until 1835. The population of the municipality reached a peak of 2185 in 1887 but has since declined to 1002 in 2013.
  Its history is marked by its membership the Poblet Monastery for six centuries (from 1227 to 1835). The population before the flood of 1184 was located in Cercavins, the river valley, beside a fountain and around the church of Santa Magdalena. After the flood that devastated three quarters of the old town, the lady and owner of Verdu, Berengaria of Cervera, made the villagers agree to move their houses above the floodplain, around the castle, which had begun to be built a century earlier.
  In return, the villagers got walls and portals built surrounding the new town. Berengaria's son, Guillem of Cervera, sold the villa in Poblet. Under the auspices of the monastery, Verdú enjoyed many privileges and advantages, which made it succeed more than the surrounding cities, for many centuries. Evidence of this prosperity include the castle, the parish church, the whole streets and stately homes.
caption: Verdú in 1916
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