Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 41° 23.070 E 002° 10.668
31T E 431254 N 4581767
An equestrian statue of Count Ramon Berenguer III is located at Plaça Ramon Berenguer el Gran along Via Laietana in Barcelona, Spain.
Waymark Code: WMVB8E
Location: Cataluña, Spain
Date Posted: 03/27/2017
Views: 9
A 2.57 x 2.69 x 1.10 meter bronze equestrian statue of Ramon Berenguer III depicts the count and warrior in medieval armor including a crown, helmet, cloak, Roman style strapped sandals, and chain mail. He is sitting on a horse with his hands on the reins and his feet in the stirrups. The horse stand with its right front foot off the ground on a 2.52 x 1.68 x 2.84 meter Montjuïc stone base. A plaster cast of the statue was created by Josep Llimona in 1880 and a bronze cast and restoration was done by Frederic Marès in 1950.
The front of the base is inscribed:
RAMON BERENGUER III
MLXXXII - MCXXXI
Count Ramon Berenguer III, was also known as Ramon Berenguer the Great and Ramon Berenguer I the Count of Provence in the Holy Roman Empire from 1112. He was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086 before becoming the Count of Provence.
Ramon Berenguer III was born into a noble family on November 11, 1082 in Rodez, Toulouse, France. He co-ruled along with his father as viscount of Rodez and became sole ruler upon the exile of his father. In 1112 he married Dolça de Gévaudaun, the heiress of Provence, and thus gained the title Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Provence.
In 1114, Ramon Berenguer III led an expedition to the Balearic Islands and, in a decisive Christian victory, he conquered the Muslim held islands of Majorca and Ibiza, freeing many many Christian slaves in the process. In 1118 he had captured the Catalan territory of Tarragona. He died in 1131 in Barcelona.