Aranda de Moncayo

Aranda de Moncayo municipality
	Aranda de Moncayo - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Zaragoza
Comarca :	Aranda (Spain)
Coordinates	41 ° 35 ′ N , 1 ° 48 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 35 ′ N , 1 ° 48 ′ W
Height :	910 msnm
Area :	91.2 km²
Residents :	152 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	1.67 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	50259
Municipality number ( INE ):	50031
administration
Website :	Aranda de Moncayo

Aranda de Moncayo ( Aranda for short ) is a northern Spanish town and municipality ( municipio ) with 152 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the north-west of the province of Saragossa in the west of the autonomous region of Aragon . The place belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Aranda de Moncayo is located on a hill above the Río Aranda at the foot of the Sierra de Moncayo, which is a maximum of 2315 m high, about 107 km (driving distance) west of the provincial capital of Saragossa near the border with the old Castilian province of Soria at an altitude of about 910 m ; the lovely town of Calatayud is just 50 km south. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 510 mm / year) falls throughout the year with the exception of the summer months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	1,370	1,570	1,136	247	174

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

economy

For centuries, the residents of the village lived directly or indirectly as self-sufficiency from agriculture, which also included livestock farming. Today orchards play an essential role in the economic life of the place; In addition, holiday apartments (casas rurales) are rented out.

history

Traces of Celtiberian and Roman settlement have been discovered at the Aratikos archaeological site . In the 8th century Arab-Moorish armies advanced into the upper Ebro Valley; the local castle is sometimes associated with the Moors . Around 1120 the area was recaptured by Alfonso I of Aragon ( reconquista ) . Later it was disputed between the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile ; The then King Peter IV of Aragón gave the place in 1373 in the hands of the Knightly Order of San Jorge de Alfama . The territorial dispute with Castile did not end until the marriage of the Catholic Kings Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragón in 1469. In 1508 the county of Aranda (Condado de Aranda) was created.

Attractions

A castle (castillo) probably already existed in Moorish times; it was later taken over by the order of knights of Alfama, renewed and defended against Castilian attacks.

Several noble houses (palacios) from the 16th to 18th centuries are located in the Plaza Mayor .

The small Archaeological Museum Espacio Expositivo Aratikos y la Celtiberia is located by the town hall (Casa consistorial) .

The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción dates from the mid-16th century. While the church was built largely from rough but plastered rubble stone, the - after restoration - the almost modern-looking bell storey of the tower is made of bricks in Mudejar style . The nave and the polygonal choir are spanned by late Gothic star vaults; here there are several carved altarpieces (retablos) .

Surroundings

Of the three former hermit churches (ermitas) , only the Ermita de San Roque , built in 1653, is in good condition.
Two shrines (peirónes) also belong to the townscape.