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Manresa County Museum

History of the city

This area presents two peak, important moments in the history of Manresa and El Bages: Ignatius Loyola’s sojourn in Manresa in 1522, which also signals the shift to the world of the Renaissance, and the battles of Bruc in June 1808, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, which are a milestone in the transition from the 18th to 19th centuries.

In 1522, Ignatius Loyola arrived in Manresa, a city which was gradually recovering from the economic crisis of the late Middle Ages. During an almost one-year sojourn, he underwent a profound transformation and wrote his Spiritual Exercises. Later, he founded the Company of Jesus, the Jesuits. His imprint on the city is remembered through the Ignatian sites. The Cave of Saint Ignatius is the most important Ignatian monument in the city, although the College of Saint Ignatius, the current headquarters of the County Museum, is also worth highlighting.

The 18th century was a good time for the city. The Peninsular War was waged between 1808 and 1814. The troops of the emperor Napoleon invaded Spain with the pretext of attacking Portugal. However, the French never permanently occupied El Bages.

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