The Town
Colldejou is located in the mountainous part of Baix Camp, bordering el Priorat among the mountain chains of Llaberia and Colldejou. The mountain range of La Mola de Colldejou is a hiker benchmark and there are remains of a small fort of Carlist wars. The town was part of the barony of Escornalbou, an important medieval social and political center. The domains of Colldejou cover 14.10 km² and by the side of Camp make border with l'Argentera to the north, Vilanova d'Escornalbou to the east, Pratdip to the south and Mont-roig del Camp to the southwest. At the border of el Priorat, Colldejou has as neighbors la Torre de Fontaubella to the north, Marçà and Capçanes to the west and Pradell de la Teixeta to the northwest. To the southwest, it makes border with Tivissa of la Ribera d'Ebre.
The town sits on the southern slope of La Mola de Colldejou, which is 914 meters high. All around there are peaks such as les Perdigotes (713 m high), or les Costes del Jau (629 m high), which determines that the town has uneven terrain and not suitable for agricultural work.
History
The town's name is, for Eduard Toda, of roman origin, according Morera, Arabic. The most accepted origin is referring to a description of the relief that recalls the curved form of a yoke (jou in catalan, meaning "mountain pass of yoke"). Colldejou is and had been a predominantly agricultural town. The industries of coal and gypsum were lost.
The town is already mentioned in a bull of Anastasius IV in 1154. In 1197 Albert de Castellvell gave the township to the convent of Escornalbou. The village, like most villages of Camp de Tarragona, formed part of La Comuna del Camp, at least from 1586 until 1669. In the eighteenth century it was economically prosperous and it increased its population, from 77 unhabitants in 1719 to 254 in 1787. In the nineteenth century it received Carlist struggles, there are still the remains of a small fort built over La Mola de Colldejou. In the mid-nineteenth century, the town had crops of wheat, barley, legumes, wine, potatoes, sheep and goats, beehives and liquor were produced.
La Mola de Colldejou
Colldejou has a powerful element of naturalist attraction, is the Mountain of la Mola or la Mola de Colldejou, which is 914 meters high and is not only its distinctive sign but a true haven for hikers and nature lovers. In fact, La Mola and Tivissa-Vandellos mountain range, Blanca mountain, Montalt, Llaberia and Cardó massif form a biological corridor that links the mountain range of els Ports and Prades mountains. At the top of La Mola, which is flat and elongated, and from distance seems a huge molar tooth, one can find peace and silence that characterize high mountain points. From up here there are some idyllic views over the Camp de Tarragona.
