Flix (Tarragona)

Flix is a town in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on a promontory by the Ebro river, the town occupied an important strategic position. Situated on the Madrid - Barcelona railway line, it expanded in the early twentieth century with the construction of a hydroelectric power station and a large chemical plant, Electroquímica de Flix.There is excellent fishing in the horseshoe-shaped bend in the river (day ticket). Every year there is a large international fishing competition at Flix.HistoryFlix was the site of a battle in the Spanish Civil War in 1938. The Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the International Brigades and the Fascists as part of the Battle of the Ebro. The operation was initially a success for the republicans with the construction of the iron bridge nearly complete by the 3rd Division. However at the end they had lost 3,000 soldiers and the battle. Today there is a memorial to this battle at Flix.In 2005 the existence of a vast polluted area on the shores of the Flix Reservoir was disclosed. The environmental disaster involving large quantities of toxic waste was caused by the Ercros chemical factory, located by the shore of the artificial lake. Following this disclosure an ambitious plan to clean up the area has been drawn. This plan involves the building of containment barriers and the removal and treatment of the hazardous chemical waste.