Ariza (Saragossa)

Ariza municipality
	Ariza - town view from the castle hill
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Zaragoza
Comarca :	Comunidad de Calatayud
Coordinates	41 ° 19 ′ N , 2 ° 3 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 19 ′ N , 2 ° 3 ′ W
Height :	725 msnm
Area :	103.08 km²
Residents :	1,115 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	10.82 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	50220
Municipality number ( INE ):	50034
administration
Website :	Ariza

Ariza is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with a total of 1,115 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the extreme west of the province of Saragossa in the autonomous region of Aragon in northeastern Spain . The place is a station on the Camino del Cid ; it belongs to the sparsely populated region of the Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Ariza is located in the valley of the Río Jalón a good 125 km (driving distance) southwest of the provincial capital Saragossa at an altitude of approx. 725 m . The town of Calatayud, which is well worth seeing, is only approx. 40 km to the east. The climate is harsh in winter, but temperate to warm in summer; the rather sparse rain (approx. 420 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	1,354	1,724	2,880	1,334	1,133

As a result of increasing drought, the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of numerous small farms and the resulting lower demand for labor in rural areas, the number of inhabitants fell significantly in the second half of the 20th century as a result of rural exodus.

Economy and Infrastructure

For centuries, the town's residents were essentially self-sufficient; There were no markets. The few traders, craftsmen and service providers were provided with essentials by street vendors. Viticulture and tourism play important roles in the local economy.

history

Already in prehistoric times there were several Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the area; the first historically halfway tangible inhabitants of the area around today's Calatayud were Celtiberians from the tribe of the Lusones ; Roman and Visigoth traces are almost completely missing. In the 8th century the area was overrun by Arab-Moorish armies, which were not pushed south until the beginning of the 12th century ( reconquista ) . In the following years, however, the region was contested between the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile ; for this reason, Peter II of Aragón granted the area a complete tax exemption. In 1251, Ariza and some of the surrounding villages broke away from their dependence on Calatayud - the castle (castillo) left by the Moors was enlarged. In 1361 Peter IV placed the place directly under the Crown of Aragón; however, due to lack of money, he sold it 20 years later (1381) to Guillén de Palafox, who established a manor (señorio) here. At the end of the 15th century the tax burden was felt so much as oppressive by the population that there were repeated uprisings. However, the respective kings supported their noble vassals and so Philip III created. in 1611 the Marquisate of Ariza (Marquesado de Ariza) .

Castillo and rock cellar ( bodegas )

Palacio de los Marqueses de Ariza

Attractions

At the foot of the ruins of the Castillo de Ariza there are several rock cellars ( bodegas ) carved into the loose rock .

The church of La Asunción de Nuestra Señora (sometimes also called Iglesia de Santa María la Real ), built in the 16th century, is a three-aisled hall church built almost entirely from stone ; only the lantern of the bell tower , which was added later and was built on an octagonal plan, is made of bricks . The three naves are spanned by star vaults; the carved and (today) unpainted altarpiece in the polygonal broken apse dates from the 18th century and shows several figures of saints.

After destruction during the Carlist Wars (1833ff), the interior of the Iglesia de San Pedro , built around 1620, is in a ruinous condition; only the portal is worth seeing.

The exceptionally austere Palacio de los Marqueses de Ariza dates from around 1870 in its current state. It later served as a school building; in the meantime it has been converted into a cultural center.