Verdú Castle is the most emblematic building in the town and it was around it that the streets and squares that now form the town of Verdú began to be built. In 1055 these territories were conquered by Ramon Berenguer I, and in 1072 they passed to the family of Arnau Company. For two hundred years they were in the hands of the Arnau family, until in 1184 Berenguera de Cervera granted the inhabitants of Verdú the Population Charter, and thus built the village around the Castle. In 1227 the Castle of Verdú passed into the hands of Poblet, after his son Guillem de Cervera pushed him to make a crusade to the Holy Land. The Monastery of Poblet was the owner of the Castle until 1836 with the confiscation of Mendizábal. The monks turned the old fortress into a palace residence by building a more monumental part that is still preserved today: a large cellar, in the lower room, the middle room for agricultural storage and stables. The Sala Noble, known as the Sala Abat Copons, was built in the 14th century.
With the confiscation, the castle was divided into different parts, and in 1916 reinforcement actions were carried out in the most important and noble part of the castle. This area is bought by the Patronat de Sant Pere Claver, and becomes the Cultural, Religious Center and also the Agricultural Union of Verdú. In 1919, Cèsar Martinell carried out a performance at the Castle, with the construction of accesses to the underground vault of the mill, the installation of new mills in the basement nave.
In 1988, Verdú City Council bought part of the Castle and carried out various maintenance and rehabilitation works on the Tribute Tower.
At the end of 2004, very important restoration works began, which allowed the rehabilitation and structural consolidation of the building. In October 2014, the Castle, which can now be visited, was definitively opened.
Virtual visit to the Castell de Verdú
Font: Ajuntament de Verdú
