Aguilar del Río Alhama

Aguilar del Río Alhama municipality
Aguilar del Río Alhama - place and church
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	La Rioja
Comarca :	Cervera
Coordinates	41 ° 58 ′  N , 2 ° 0 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 58 ′  N , 2 ° 0 ′  W
Height :	635  msnm
Area :	54.11 km²
Residents :	460 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	8.5 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	26530
Municipality number  ( INE ):	26003
administration
Website :	Aguilar del Río Alhama

Aguilar del Río Alhama is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) belonging to the populous Serranía Celtibérica with a total of only 460 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the southeast of the autonomous community of La Rioja in northern Spain .

Location and climate

The place Aguilar del Río Alhama is located on the Río Alhama in the transition zone from the Iberian Mountains in the south to the Ebro Valley in the north and a good 100 km (driving distance) southeast of the provincial capital Logroño at an altitude of about 635  m ; to Saragossa it is another 125 km in a south-easterly direction. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 480 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	1,558	1,884	2,101	687	470

As a result of the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting lower demand for labor, the population of the municipality has decreased significantly since the middle of the 20th century ( rural exodus ). The hamlet (pedanía) Inestrillas with about 50 inhabitants also belongs to the municipality.

economy

For centuries, the community was agriculturally oriented for the purpose of self-sufficiency , with livestock farming (milk, cheese, meat) in the foreground; Weaving products were made from the sheep's wool and could also be exchanged or sold. But fruit, vegetables and grain were also grown. Textile production also played an important role in the economic life of the community until the 1960s. Today holiday apartments (casas rurales) are rented out mainly in the summer months .

history

The archaeological site of Contrebia Leucade spanned a long period of settlement. Celtiberian , Roman , Visigoth and even Islamic-Moorish traces of settlement were otherwise not discovered in the municipality, but we know from written sources that a Hispano-Roman or Visigoth family converted to Islam in the 8th century and called the place and its surroundings as Banu Qasi dominated. A military reconquest ( Reconquista ) by the Christians may not take place, but they took over in the 12th century gradually the power. In the further course of the Middle Ages, the region was at times disputed between the kingdoms of Castile , Navarre and Aragón ; in 1198, however, Alfonso VIII of Castile conquered the city, which has since been part of Castile. In 1822 Aguilar was added to the newly created province of Logroño , from which the autonomous region of La Rioja emerged in the 1980s.

Attractions

Aguilar

Inestrillas - cave dwellings

Ermita de la Virgen del Prado

• There are only sparse remains of a castle (castillo) that formerly existed in the rock above the town . The landlords (señores) of the Tierra de Cameros region came into possession of the castle through a royal donation in 1391 and henceforth called themselves "Counts of Aguilar" (Condes de Aguilar)
• The single-aisled Iglesia de la Asunción , built almost entirely from rubble stones , is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and was built in the 16th century; consisting of brick masonry bell storey of the tower was added several years later. The nave and the apse contain several baroque altarpieces (retablos) .
• The Ermita de la Antigua Aguilar can be reached on a hike.
• The Celtiberian-Roman excavation site Contrebia Leucade is located near the border to the neighboring municipality of Cervera del Río Alhama ; the finds that came to light here span a period from the Bronze Age to the 9th century.

Inestrillas

• At about 2 km northeast hamlet Inestrillas there are the remains of a castle clinging to a cliff and former cave dwellings with exterior walls made of quarry stone and rammed earth .
• The rib-vaulted Iglesia de la Natividad , built in the 16th century, is also directly adjacent to a rock face.
• Approx. 3 km to the east is the remarkable Ermita de la Virgen del Prado , whose current construction dates from the 18th century.
• There are dinosaur tracks very close by .

Web links

Commons : Aguilar del Río Alhama  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Aguilar del Río Alhama - Photos + Info (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
2. ↑ Aguilar del Río Alhama - climate tables
3. ^ Aguilar del Río Alhama - population development
4. ↑ Aguilar del Río Alhama - History
5. ↑ Aguilar del Río Alhama - castle ruins
6. ↑ Aguilar / Inestrillas - Sights