Alquezar

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Alquézar municipality
Alquézar - town view
Alquézar - town view
coat of arms Map of Spain
Alquézar coat of arms
Alquézar (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Aragon
Province : Huesca
Comarca : Somontano de Barbastro
Coordinates 42 ° 10 ′  N , 0 ° 2 ′  E Coordinates: 42 ° 10 ′  N , 0 ° 2 ′  E
Height : 660  msnm
Area : 32.36 km²
Residents : 303 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density : 9.36 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 22145
Municipality number  ( INE ): 22024
administration
Website : Ayuntamiento de Alquézar www.alquezar.org/ Ayuntamiento de Alquézar
Alquézar: View of the town

Alquézar ( Aragonese Alquezra ) is a municipality ( municipio ) in northern Spain in the province of Huesca in the autonomous community of Aragón . The old town center was classified as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category.

location

Alquézar is located on a rocky hill in the southern foothills of the Pyrenees ( Sierra de Guara ) at the exit of a gorge of the Río Vero almost 50 kilometers (driving distance) west of Huesca . The town of Aínsa is about 30 kilometers to the north, although a detour via Barbastro has to be taken, which significantly extends the journey.

Population development

year 1960 1970 1981 1992 2004 2011
Residents 331 371 297 267 309 302

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Alquézar had well over 800 inhabitants.

economy

Traditionally, agriculture, handicrafts and trade are of great importance to the economic life of the small community. As a result of the rapidly increasing mechanization of agriculture in the second half of the 20th century, many jobs have been lost. In return, tourism - especially the rental of holiday apartments - was added as a source of income for the city.

history

As early as the 9th century, Jalaf ibn Rashid , who controlled the province of Huesca on behalf of his master, the Emir of Saragossa , had a fortress ( arab.al-kasr ) built on the rocky hill , which was however in the course of the reconquest ( reconquista ) and repopulation ( repoblación ) of the area was destroyed. Alquézar itself was conquered by Sancho Ramírez in 1067 (possibly also 1065) and from then on belonged to the Crown of Aragón and later to the Kingdom of Spain.

Attractions

  • The old town center with its narrow streets is the main attraction of the town for many visitors. Here you can find houses made of natural stone masonry as well as of bricks , the upper floor of which rests partly on columns that are connected to one another by mighty wooden architraves .
Colegiata Santa María la Mayor
  • The collegiate church ( Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor ), documenting an extremely defensive character ( fortified church ) from the outside, stands on the highest elevation of the place on the site of the former Moorish fortress, in whose premises Christian hermit monks had already established themselves in the 11th century joined the Augustinian order in the 13th century . The first church was built, which was rebuilt in the 16th century into the single-nave church that is visible today, but with several side chapels. This impresses with its high ribbed vault with differently designed star motifs and a baroque altarpiece . The trapezoidal cloister ( claustro ) adjoining to the south dates from the 14th century, but still contains several 'primitive' but expressive Romanesque capitals with only partially interpretable scenes and figures - however, the sacrifice of Isaac can be recognized. The fresco paintings on the walls of the cloister were made in the 15th and 16th centuries. Century appropriate - they mostly show scenes from the New Testament. The museum located on the upper floor of the cloister presents altarpieces and other religious works of art from the late Middle Ages to the Baroque period.
  • Below the church fortress is the parish church of San Miguel , which was built between 1681 and 1708. The three-aisled church shows a simple and strict baroque architecture outside and inside, which completely dispenses with stone or stucco decoration. The interior used to be loosened up by various smaller reredos, which, however, were almost completely destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The pictures on the walls today are of mediocre quality.
  • A small folklore museum ( Museo etnológico Casa Fabián ) shows various exhibits on the agricultural and handicraft techniques of earlier times.
Surroundings
A well-signposted, but in parts quite difficult hiking trail ( Pasarelas del Vero ) runs through parts of the Río Vero gorge, which is only about 300 meters from Alquézar .

Web links

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

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).