Belmonte (Cuenca)

Belmonte municipality
	Belmonte - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Cuenca
Coordinates	39 ° 34 ′ N , 2 ° 42 ′ W Coordinates: 39 ° 34 ′ N , 2 ° 42 ′ W
Height :	755 msnm
Area :	92.93 km²
Residents :	1,903 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	20.48 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	16640
Municipality number ( INE ):	16033
administration
Website :	Belmonte

Belmonte is a small town and a municipality ( municipio ) with only 1,903 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the east of the province of Cuenca in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha in south-east Spain . The old town center is classified as Conjunto histórico-artístico .

Location and climate

The small town of Belmonte is located approx. 100 km southwest of the provincial capital Cuenca at an altitude of approx. 755 m . The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 445 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2019
Residents	2,641	2,508	3,631	2,445	1,903

As a result of the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs, the population of the municipality has decreased significantly since the middle of the 20th century ( rural exodus ).

economy

The surroundings of the small town are still mainly oriented towards agriculture; In the past, pasture farming and the production of cheese and sausage were of great importance, which - in addition to animal skins and wool - could be sold to traveling traders. Today agricultural products such as olives and almonds are in the foreground. Craftsmen as well as dealers and service providers have themselves in the village .

history

Belmonte Castle

Collegiate Church of San Bartolomé

Windmills

Iberian and Roman settlement finds are missing; The foundations of a church below today's collegiate church were discovered from the Visigothic period . After the reconquest ( reconquista ) of the area by Castilian troops at the end of the 11th century , the phase of repopulation ( repoblación ) began by Christians from the north and south of the Iberian Peninsula . In 1323, the Infante Juan Manuel , nephew of Alfonso X of Castile, began building the castle (castillo) and the city wall (muralla) . Later the place and castle came to the landlord family Pacheco, whose daughter Maria Alfonso married Téllez Girón y Vázquez de Acuña ; the two had two sons, of whom the elder, Juan Pacheco y Téllez Girón (1419-1474), the just for Markgraf (marques) of Villena had risen, which in 1456 manorial (señorio) took over the village. His descendants continued this until 1833.

Attractions

The symmetrical Castillo de Belmonte is one of the best preserved castles on the Iberian Peninsula due to its long use .
The Puerta de Chinchilla and other parts of the former five-gate city wall have been preserved.
The three-aisled collegiate church of San Bartolomé , also built around 1456, is dedicated to the Apostle Bartholomew ; it was built over an old Visigothic church. As is customary with such important churches in Spain, it has an internal choir ( coro ) for the dignitaries of the city, who were usually canons at the same time . The main attractions inside the church are the richly carved late Gothic choir stalls (sillería) and the late Baroque altarpiece (retablo) in the style of churriguerism in the Capilla de San Pedro y San Pablo . The nave , which is significantly lower than the choir that was built first, is remarkable ; this can actually only be explained by financial reasons. The architects and sculptors Hannequin von Brussels and Egas Cueman , among others, were involved in the construction .

The fortress and palatial Palacio del Infante Don Manuel was built before the middle of the 14th century. Juan Pacheco was born here in 1419. The inner courtyard was rebuilt in the 16th century in the Renaissance style; the complex now serves as an exclusive palace hotel.

On a ridge (cerro) east of the castle are several windmills (molinos) .