Guimerà

History

Guimerà's development originated in the push by Christian forces from the north to recover the Iberian peninsula from Islam. It is believed the village is named after a Visigothic person named something like Wigmar, who may have founded the settlement. Its big castle with a high watchtower indicates its strategic importance. Guimerà's first mention in extant records was in the year 1038, in a legal deed regarding its castle.| 1497|91 | 1515|103 | 1553|128 | 1717|444| 1787|1246 | 1830|1292 | 1857|1606 | 1877|1488 | 1887|1468 | 1900|1394 | 1910|990 | 1920|1425 | 1930|1255 | 1940|1155 | 1950|1126 | 1960|922 | 1970|660 | 1981|501 | 1990|473 | 1992|421 | 1994|412 | 1996|397 | 1998|375 | 2000|399 | 2002|383 | 2004|361 | 2006|344 | 2011|320 }} Guimerà's population reached a peak of 1606 in 1857, but, in common with the general population decline in the surrounding area, has steadily decreased to 320 in 2011. A large number of the buildings in the village are now holiday homes.