Manresa is a milenary town located in the heart of Catalonia, 60 Km away from Barcelona. Situated at the crossroads of two strategic communication axes in Catalonia: the north-south (Llobregat) one and the East-West one. www.ajmanresa.cat

With a city population over 75.000 inhabitants, Manresa has an industrial and commercial tradition. Manresa has played and still plays a very important role of capital status in relation to a wide territory (over 250.000 people) of the so-called Central Catalonia.  Manresa has a rich cultural activity going from theatre, music, exhibitions and festivals (cinema noir, medieval fair, traditional arts fair).

The main objective of the Town Hall of Manresa and other administrations and private institutions is to concentrate the public efforts; to boost the cooperation between the Administration, Universities, Research Centres and the private agents, in order to be one of the most interesting knowledge based economies of the country.

Manresa has played and still plays a very important role of capital status in relation to a wide territory of the so-called Central Catalonia. Few medium-sized cities in Catalonia have a historic heritage as wide and diverse as Manresa, which ranges from the Gothic period to Modernism, going through all the industrialisation process.

Location:
Located in the heart of Catalonia. Manresa is situated at the crossroads of two strategic communication axes in Catalonia: the Llobregat Axis and the Transverse Axis. Manresa is only 60 Km away from Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. Manresa is situated at the crossroads of two strategic communication axes in Catalonia: the Llobregat Axis and the Transverse Axis. The Llobregat Axis goes through the Bages region from north to south, crossing Manresa, and it is the quickest way between Barcelona and the Pyrenean Axis. The first section connects Manresa with Barcelona, a 60-km motorway that can be driven in less than 40 minutes. It is the shortest way between Barcelona and Paris, going through the important economic centre of Toulouse. The Transverse Axis crosses the Bages region from east to west, passing through Manresa, and connects Lleida with Girona, two of the four most important cities in Catalonia. Manresa is strategically situated in the heart of this Axis. Apart from the road network, we cannot forget the direct railway link with Barcelona and its metropolitan area, with Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, the Catalan railway company, and RENFE, the Spanish railway company.

Population: The population of Manresa on January 2006 was 72,328 inhabitants.

A city with commercial and industrial tradition
Manresa has played and still plays a very important role of capital status in relation to a wide territory of the so-called Central Catalonia. Few medium-sized cities in Catalonia have a historic heritage as wide and diverse as Manresa, which ranges from the Gothic period to Modernism, going through all the industrialisation process.  The modern industry in the region was born at the end of the 18th century in the textile industry and it was mechanised in the middle of the 19th century. Some positive factors played an important role for its development. It is worth pointing out a preindustrial tradition, the motive power of the rivers, and the labour coming from the rural world.

The textile industry led to urban expansion and other economic activities such as the manufacturing of textile machinery, which, in turn, gave birth to the auxiliary metallurgic industry. The rationalisation of the textile industry, which took place in the seventies, accelerated the diversification of other industrial sectors, leading to the development of the metallurgic sector (machine tool and auxiliary car industry). The urban development and the growth of population, motivated by the industrialisation process, consolidated Manresa as the commercial centre in Central Catalonia, a role which has been maintained up to the present day. The city centre continues to offer a wide variety of commercial establishments, which have succeeded in overcoming the aggressive new trends of commercial distribution.

Manresa, a communication centre: Despite having an excellent geographical situation, Manresa has suffered throughout its history deficient and insufficient communications, which slowed down its development. Fortunately, nowadays these circumstances have changed and the city offers a good communication network.

The industrial sector
The industrial sector of Manresa generates 27% of the total gross value added of its economy and represents 36% of the resident working population. The industrial structure gathers around 600 industrial establishments, being small businesses the dominating part (76% of the businesses have fewer than 5 workers and 11% do not have more than 11 wage earners). According to the most important subindustries, it is worth pointing out the metallurgic industry, specialised in treating and working metals, metallic woodwork, mechanic workshops, construction of textile machinery and auxiliary car industry. Other important subindustries are the textile - clothing, webbing, knitwear -, woodwork, food and graphic arts.

Commerce and services
The capital status of the Bages region and of a wide area of Central Catalonia, and the importance of the industrial sector, have all motivated the development of an important commerce and service sector. This sector generates 65% of the total gross valued added, and represents 57% of the resident working population. Manresa continues to have an important Commercial Core, with a high density of commercial establishments, which has successfully competed with the new distribution trends and the new commercial locations on the outskirts of the city. The commercial sector has quite a large number of associations like the Retailers and Shopkeepers Association, and others that gather retailers from the city centre. This network of associations manages, together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Town Hall of Manresa, the delegation of the Spanish government in Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya - the Catalan government -, the invigorating plan «Manresa Nucli Comercial» (Manresa, Commercial Core).

The labour market
Manresa offers a dynamic and active market, an example of its economic activity. The evolution of the labour market has been very satisfactory throughout the past 3 years, with a permanent and regular drop of the unemployment rate. Therefore, according to the figures of January 2000, there were 1,435 unemployed in Manresa, an unemployment rate of 5.11%. This figure is lower than the unemployment rate of Catalonia as a whole (6.5%) and that of the Bages region (5.85%). The total working population, in relation to the list of inhabitants of 1996, was of 28,062 people, which means an activity rate of 51%.

Technical and university training
Manresa offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, which are concentrated in two public institutions - University Foundation of Bages and Technical College of Manresa - and a private centre - Escola Joviat -, which offers undergraduate courses in Tourism.

University Foundation of Bages
This Foundation offers studies in Health Sciences and Social Sciences. The three-year degree programmes of the Autonomous University of Barcelona held in this centre are Nursery; Physiotherapy; Chiropody; Business Studies, and Management and Administration Studies. Nowadays, there are more than one thousand students: 45% come from the central regions; 30%, from the metropolitan area; 9%, from the rest of Catalonia, and 16%, from outside Catalonia. It is expected that the number of students coming from the three last mentioned areas will increase in a near future. Furthermore, the institution annually offers a continuing training programme and develops different projects of applied research, preferably in collaboration with companies and institutions involved in specific areas. The Foundation pays careful attention to the development of the relationship between universities and enterprises. Nowadays there are 125 collaboration agreements in force signed with entities, companies and institutions. The scope of this collaboration is to offer students a practical and useful training, and to introduce them into both the professional and business world. The Foundation will be definitely set up with the construction of a new building in the northern part of the city, at the new University Campus, located in a privileged area that will be perfectly connected with the Transverse Axis and the city centre. This new service will be located next to the Technological Centre of Manresa and near the Technical College. The proximity between both centres will help the construction of combined services, and the concretion of combined research and training initiatives.

Technical College of Manresa
It constitutes one of the campuses of the Technical University of Catalonia, and it provides 5 diplomas in Technical Engineering; doctoral programmes and other diplomas; master’s degrees, and postgraduate courses or specialisation courses. The diplomas in Technical Engineering are the following:
* Technical Engineer in Telecommunications, diploma in Electronic Systems for Telecommunications.
* Industrial Technical Engineer, diploma in Industrial Chemistry.
* Industrial Technical Engineer, diploma in Industrial Electronics.
* Industrial Technical Engineer, diploma in Mechanical Engineering.
* Mining Technical Engineer, diploma in Mining Engineering.

 

The centre has 110 university teachers and there are about 1,500 registered students. Every year the centre allows 60 new students to register in each special field, except Mechanical Engineering, which allows 120. Furthermore, 200 students graduate every year. The College also offers three-year degree programmes in Industrial Management; doctoral courses in Natural Resources and Pollution; master’s degrees in Industrial Management and Electromechanical Engineering Techniques, and courses in Occupational Hazard Prevention.

Economic promotion services
The main objectives of the Town Hall of Manresa and other administrations and private institutions are to concentrate the public efforts; to foment the cooperation between the Administration and the private agents, and to coordinate initiatives and services. Thus, the economic promotion services have been structured around two mainstays: The Centre of Initiatives for Occupation and the Business Development Centre. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Manresa, the Manresa Trade Fair, the Technological Council of Bages and the Technological Centre of Manresa, offer as well specialised services, and actively participate in the management of different policies of economic promotion and support to the business world.

Centre of Initiatives for Occupation
It is the Occupation Local Service of the Town Hall of Manresa. Its mission is to improve the occupation rate and to promote the access of the unemployed to the labour market, especially of those who have greater difficulties to find a job. It is a professional and rigorous centre that offers services of occupation and continuing training, and labour intermediation.

Business Development Centre
It is a specialised centre that offers different services of support to the new entrepreneurs and companies, especially medium and small-sized enterprises. It develops training programmes; it offers information and specialised consulting, and it organises different invigorating activities in the business sector, as well as industrial promotion activities. It is run by both the Town Hall of Manresa and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Manresa
Manresa has its own Chamber of Commerce and Industry since it was founded in1906, which comprises the cities of the Bages region. The Chamber is an institution, whose main objective is to defend and promote the necessary actions to foment the industry and commerce. It integrates 11,000 enterprises, with an export volume of 600 million Euro approx.). The Chamber offers specialised services and organises the activities the enterprises require. Together with the rest of the twelve Catalan chambers, the Chamber offers its members the biggest network distribution and information service centres in Catalonia. Among other activities, it is worth pointing out those that foment export, and both professional and continuing training.

Manresa Trade Fair
The Manresa Trade Fair is a private foundation run by a trust led by the Town Hall of Manresa and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and integrated by other administrations, and public and private institutions. Its aim is to organise conventions, commercial events and other business-related activities. The foundation runs the Trade Fair Hall of Manresa as well. The Manresa Trade Fair is the result of a long tradition in trade fairs. In 1901, the General Great Trade Fair of Manresa took place, which was born thanks to the impact of the World Trade Fair of Barcelona in 1888. The main conventions organised are Expobages, Exponeu, Ecoviure, Ecociutat and Tecnifac. The Manresa Trade Fair organises different tasks to promote the city too.

Technological Council of Bages
It is a private foundation promoted by the Industrial Engineers School of Catalonia. The Town Hall of Manresa, the Regional Council of Bages, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Manresa, Caixa de Manresa - a local financial entity -, and the Technical College of Manresa are also the founders. It is a part of the Network of Local Technological Divulging Centres, the Catalan Institute of Technology and the Spanish Federation of Entities of Innovation and Technology. The Technological Council of Bages offers technical consulting services, implantation of quality systems, environmental quality, office automation and applied data transmission. In collaboration with other institutions, it runs specialised training programmes through a Training Area. It is recognised as the Technological Innovation Centre.

Technological Centre of Manresa
It is a centre of the Technical University of Catalonia, which will come into operation in October 2000 and will be run together with the Technological Council of Bages. Its aim is to organise research and technological innovation tasks, and to transfer the technological knowledge of the University into projects that mean a competitive advantage for the companies. It will have powerful equipment and infrastructures, with accredited laboratories in the metallurgic and waste process fields. The Technological Centre of Manresa is destined to be the most important technological innovation point in Central Catalonia. Manresa is working in a full strategy based on Knowledge Economy and Innovation. A new Technological Park has been built, public and private are working in the development of the city and several local clusters are starting to develop their own strategies.

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Population
The population of Manresa on January 2006 was 72,328 inhabitants. Throughout the eighties and the nineties, Manresa decreased in number of inhabitants, from 66,320 in 1991 to 64,119 IN2000, a significant reduction of 3.3%. This phenomenon took place in many big and middle-sized cities in Catalonia at the same period of time. The causes were the greater interdependence among the cities and a bigger mobility between the place of work and the residence. This situation is common between Manresa and the cities of the region, especially of the so-called Pla de Bages. Therefore, although Manresa is demographically static as a city; it is gaining inhabitants as an urban system, if we take into account its direct area of influence. However, this trend has been reversed in the last three years, as a consequence of the housing construction, and the good occupation situation, which has attracted many people from foreign countries, as well as people who lived in other towns in Central Catalonia, and in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.