Aljucén

Aljucén municipality
	Aljucén - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Extremadura
Province :	Badajoz
Comarca :	Tierra de Mérida - Vegas Bajas
Coordinates	39 ° 3 ′ N , 6 ° 20 ′ W Coordinates: 39 ° 3 ′ N , 6 ° 20 ′ W
Height :	260 msnm
Area :	19.07 km²
Residents :	264 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	13.84 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	06894
Municipality number ( INE ):	06009
administration
Website :	Aljucén

Aljucén is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 264 inhabitants (as of 2019) in the north of the Spanish province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura .

Location and climate

The place Aljucén is located on the Río Aljucén about 15 km (driving distance) north of Mérida at an altitude of about 240 to 280 m above sea level. d. The climate in winter is temperate, in summer it is warm to hot; the low amounts of precipitation (approx. 495 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2016
Residents	348	417	826	255	249

The significant population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs.

economy

While the surrounding area was largely agricultural for centuries, small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds also settled in the village.

history

Aljucén is located on the Via de la Plata , a road connection from Hispalis ( Seville ) to Asturica Augusta ( Astorga ), which was already used in antiquity and developed by the Romans . However, the name of the place comes from Arabic (الحصين al-ḥuṣayn = "fortress"), which can be understood as a reference to a castle that was once here. Around 1230 it was recaptured from the hands of the Moors ( reconquista ) ; At times it was owned by the Order of Santiago . Today the place is a stop on the Camino de Santiago in southern Spain .

Church portal (photomontage)

Attractions

The only building of historical interest is the single-nave church of San Andrés Apóstol , built in the 16th century using a mixture of broken stone and bricks , whose Renaissance portal , made of precisely hewn stones, is provided with an archivolts inscription: Sant Andrés Apóstol, Ora Pro Nobis. Dominium Deum Nostrum Jesu Christum . Two bearded heads in the arches probably represent the apostles James (Santiago, with hat brim) and Andrew ( St. Andrew's cross ).