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 The
coastal strip on which the city of Salou is located has long been
a privileged enclave for human development, favoured for its beaches
and coves.
The presence of a sedentary population in the area was first seen
in the settlements of the early Iberians and ancient Romans. This
was the era of the mythical Salauris, traditionally identified with
modern Salou.
With the subsequent arrival of the Saracens, the region became progressively
less inhabited and was eventually abandoned. It was not until the
middle of the 12th century, as a part of the Reconquest, that new
attempts were made to resettle it. In 1194, a town charter was drawn
up for Salou and bestowed by Alfons I the Chaste, upon Ximeno d’Artusell.
The attempt, however, was unsuccessful.
The 13th century was marked by the conquests of King Jaume I, who,
aware of the exceptional conditions of the natural port of Salou,
concentrated the fleet there that, in 1229, would sail to take Majorca.
During the second half of the 14th century, living conditions in
Salou became difficult. The war between Peter I of Castile and Peter
of Aragon and continuous pirate raids led to another decrease in
the population. In fact, it was to ensure the defence of the city’s
people and goods against the endless attacks by privateers, that,
in 1530, the Archbishop of Tarragona, Pere de Cardona, ordered the
Old Tower, today an art centre, to be built.
Salou remained a part of the Tarragona prelacy until 1673, when
the prelacy ceded certain rights to the nearby town of Vila-seca,
thereby initiating a process through which Vila-seca would gradually
come to possess Salou and its port. Needless to say, this led to
multiple disputes with the neighbouring city of Reus.
In 1776, the Santa Maria del Mar Church was sanctified, a modest
chapel used for worship by the sailors’ guild, which, from
the middle of the century on, exercised exclusive control over port
and fishing tasks.
In 1820, the Captaincy and the New Customs Building were built,
but in November of the same year, a decree issued by the Constitutional
Courts suppressed operation of Salou’s port. Despite the fact
that the Lighthouse was inaugurated in 1858, the port’s decadence
was already clear.
In 1863, the bath houses of the Ponent beach were authorised, and
in 1865, operation of the railroad station began. In 1887, the Reus-Salou
tram line, popularly known as the “carrilet,” was inaugurated.
In the twenties, construction of the modernist chalets along the
Passeig Jaume I promenade was begun, and the first summer residents
and tourists began to arrive.
In the 60s, Salou began a process of spectacular urban growth leading
up to the current tourism phenomenon. 1965 saw the erection of the
monument to King Jaume I, a veritable symbol of contemporary Salou.
In the 70s, an organised movement with wide popular support promoted
the city’s municipal segregation, which culminated in the Supreme
Court decision of 30 October, 1989, granting the nucleus of Salou
administrative independence from Vila-seca and ordering the Catalonian
Autonomous Government to recognise it as an independent municipality.
Thereafter, Salou underwent its most significant urban and social
transformation, with a drive to re-equip and renew the city’s
services and large demographic growth.
Click on the photos for a larger view.
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