Alconchel de Ariza

Alconchel de Ariza municipality
	Alconchel de Ariza - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Zaragoza
Comarca :	Comunidad de Calatayud
Coordinates	41 ° 12 ′ N , 2 ° 7 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 12 ′ N , 2 ° 7 ′ W
Height :	895 msnm
Area :	34.85 km²
Residents :	62 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	1.78 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	42269
Municipality number ( INE ):	50015
administration
Website :	Alconchel de Ariza

Alconchel de Ariza is a town in northern Spain and a municipality ( municipio ) with 62 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the far west of the province of Saragossa in the autonomous community of Aragon . The municipality belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

Alconchel de Ariza is located about 142 km (driving distance) southwest of the city of Saragossa near the border with the old Castilian province of Soria at an altitude of about 895 m . The historically significant town of Medinaceli is a good 41 km to the south-west. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 455 mm / year) falls throughout the year, with the exception of the rather dry summer months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	598	681	677	162	70

The mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the associated loss of jobs led to a significant decline in the population ( rural exodus ) in the second half of the 20th century .

economy

For centuries, the inhabitants of the place lived directly (as day laborers) or indirectly (as traders or craftsmen) from agriculture, which also included cattle breeding (sheep, goats, chickens). She worked on the land of the landlord family as well as their own fields and gardens. Most of the houses are rented out as holiday apartments (casas rurales) in summer .

history

So far, no finds have been made from the Celtiberian , Roman or Visigothic times. In the 8th century Arab-Moorish armies advanced to the north of the Iberian Peninsula ; The place name probably comes from this time. The area was after the reconquest ( reconquista ) of the city of Zaragoza in 1118 by the Aragonese King Alfonso I christian again. In 1381 the place came to the "Margraviate Ariza", in 1475 finally to the Castilian county Medinaceli, which shortly afterwards was raised to the duchy .

Attractions

Church of Nuestra Señora de la Leche

The only attraction of the place is the church Nuestra Señora de la Leche , built around 1600 , whose portal-free west facade is elevated by a three-part bell gable (espadaña) . The renaissance portal is on the south side; it leads into the nave covered by a simple star vault . The polygonally broken apse contains a carved altarpiece (retablo) .