the Papal States, France, Portugal, Naples and Prussia. 19th and 20th centuries In 1854 the Reus Gas Company was founded. In 1856 the railway between Reus and Tarragona was built. In 1884 the Catalan Association of Reus was founded and in 1893 was celebrated the Assembly of the Unió Catalana. In 1886 Pau Font de Rubinat founded the Catalan newspaper Lo Somatent. In 1895 the phylloxera killed big areas of vineyards in the region of Reus and many of this areas were changed to hazelnuts. In 1931 Reus voted for the republic. In 1936 Francisco Franco bombed the city until his rebel army occupied the city on 15 January 1939, starting with the dictatorship of Franco until his death in 1975. The first democratic mayor after Franco was Carles Martí Massagué, lawyer of Reus. In 1983 Anton Borrell Marcó was the new mayor of the city, but he died in a car accident on the road from Reus to Cambrils, then his successor was Juan Maria Roig. After him, Josep Abelló Padró was the mayor until 1999, replaced by Lluís Miquel Pérez Segura, who occupied the position until 2011, when the current mayor, Carles Pellicer i Punyed, started. Demography Reus was for long the second city of Catalonia with a population of 14,440 in 1787 and 27,257 in 1860. It was overtaken by Tarragona and Lleida between 1900 and 1930. The population barely grew between 1920 and 1930, with 30,266 and 35,950 inhabitants, respectively. From then, the population growth has been substantial, from 41,014 inhabitants in 1960 to 108,100 inhabitants that the city has as of the end of 2008. Immigration, mostly from Marrakesh, has been a portion of that increase. About 6% are Muslim and 8% from other religions. According to the 2006 official Spanish census (source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística), Reus is the 9th most populous city in Catalonia and the 59th in Spain. Climate Reus has a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate, the Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csa. Economy During the 19th and 20th centuries Reus became known as one of the world's major centers of liquor production, and was home to over 30 producers of vermouth. Today Reus is home to major exporters of vermouth including Yzaguirre, Iris (Muller), Miró, and Fot-Li. Festivities The principal Reus festivity is Sant Pere on June 29, declared of National Touristic Interest. One of the most characteristic and