Alcocer (Guadalajara)

Alcocer municipality
Alcocer - Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Guadalajara
Comarca :	La Alcarria
Coordinates	40 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W
Height :	780  msnm
Area :	22.14 km²
Residents :	163 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.36 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	19125
Municipality number  ( INE ):	19005
administration
Website :	Alcocer

Alcocer is a central Spanish town and municipality ( municipio ) with a total of 1,319 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Guadalajara in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The municipality belongs to the sparsely populated region of the Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Alcocer is located on the west side of the Iberian Mountains at an altitude of approx. 780  m . The provincial capital Guadalajara is approx. 65 km (driving distance) in a north-westerly direction. The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 425 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	1,623	1,441	1,400	313	313

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 ; urban markets were too far away. Agriculture was only possible to a very limited extent in the mountainous and rocky landscape; Therefore, the main focus was on livestock farming , the durable products of which (cheese, meat and wool) were sometimes bought by traveling traders.

history

Iberian , Celtic and Roman traces have been discovered in the municipality . The place name comes from the time of the Islamic-Moorish occupation , which ended here in 1177 with the conquest of Cuenca by Alfonso VIII of Castile . Around the middle of the 13th century, the place came into the possession of Doña Mayor Guillén de Guzmán , the lover of King Alfonso X of Castile . After her death (1262) the property fell to her daughter Beatrix of Castile , who later sold it to the Infante Don Juan Manuel . The Catholic Kings made the property in 1475 the Duchy of Infantado and handed it over to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1417-1479); the title of duke was retained into the 21st century.

Romanesque portal of the church

Attractions

• The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was built in the 13th century; however, it was expanded and changed again and again afterwards. The Romanesque step portal on the south side still refers to the time of construction. The bell tower (campanario) with its lantern top comes from the 16th century. The interior of the church has three naves and is spanned by ribbed vaults. The narrow Gothic windows in the central apse are unusual .
• Only a few remains of the medieval city wall have survived.

Web links

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

• Alcocer, tourism site - photos + information (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. ↑ Alcocer / Trillo - climate tables
3. ↑ Alcocer - population development
4. ↑ Alcocer Church
5. ↑ Alcocer Church
6. ↑ Alcocer - city wall