Albendea

Albendea municipality
Albendea - Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Help on coat of arms
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Cuenca
Comarca :	La Alcarria
Coordinates	40 ° 29 ′  N , 2 ° 25 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 29 ′  N , 2 ° 25 ′  W
Height :	810  msnm
Area :	38.2 km²
Residents :	121 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	3.17 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	16812
Municipality number  ( INE ):	16006
administration
Website :	Albendea

Albendea is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with only 121 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the north of the province of Cuenca in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The place is on the Ruta de la Lana , a once important trade and pilgrimage route that - coming from Alicante or Valencia - led to Burgos ; in addition, it belongs to the Serranía Celtibérica, which has suffered a severe population decline .

Location and climate

The place Albendea is located in the headwaters of the Río de San Juan, a tributary of the Río Guadiela , on the west side of the Iberian Mountains at an altitude of about 810  m . The provincial capital Cuenca is about 64 km (driving distance) to the southeast; the neighboring town of Valdeolivas , which is well worth seeing, is only 5 km away. The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 515 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2019
Residents	486	506	609	178	121

Due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs, the population of the municipality has declined sharply since the middle of the 20th century ( rural exodus ).

economy

For centuries the town's economy was largely self-sufficient ; Surplus cheese and sausages as well as animal skins and wool could be sold to traveling traders or exchanged for other products.

history

There is no evidence of a settlement in Celtic or Roman times; Visigoth traces were discovered in the Ermita de Llanes . Again nothing has survived from the Islamic-Moorish period. After the recapture ( reconquista ) of the cities of Toledo (1085) and Cuenca (to 1177) and its surrounding region by the troops of the Castilian kings Alfonso VI. and Alfonso VIII of Castile , a policy of repopulation ( repoblación ) was pursued by Christians from all parts of the Iberian Peninsula . In 1537 the place bought itself free of all feudal dependencies against a payment of 900,000 maravedis .

Attractions

Ermita / Mausoleo

• The three-aisled Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a building from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century with later changes; the apse of the original church is still preserved. In the Capilla de los Condes de Marañón is a watchable altarpiece (retablo) from the 16th century.

Surroundings

• The ruins of a late antique mausoleum are located in a wooded area about 8 km southeast of the village. This was used as a baptistery in Visigothic times and as a three-apse chapel (Ermita de Llanes) in the High Middle Ages .

literature

• Antonio Matea Martínez: Albendea, between La Alcarria y La Serranía. Self-published 2011

Web links

Commons : Albendea  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Albendea - 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. ↑ Albendea - Population Development
3. ↑ Albendea Church
4. ↑ Albendea - Mausoleum