Betancuria

Betancuria municipality
	Betancuria from the north
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Canary Islands
Province :	Las Palmas
Island:	Fuerteventura
Coordinates	28 ° 25 ′ N , 14 ° 3 ′ W Coordinates: 28 ° 25 ′ N , 14 ° 3 ′ W
Height :	395 msnm
Area :	103.64 km²
Residents :	758 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.31 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	E-35637
Municipality number ( INE ):	35007
administration
Mayor :	Marcelino Cerdeña ( CC ) (as of 2007)
Address of the municipal administration:	C / Amador Rodríguez, 2 ; 35637 - Betancuria
Location of the municipality

Betancuria is one of the six municipalities on to Spain belonging Canary Island Fuerteventura . The village of Betancuria as its administrative center is considered to be the most historically important place in Fuerteventura. With 758 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019), the municipality is the least populous on the island.

Places of the community

The population figures in brackets are from 2011.

Valles de Santa Inés (419)
Vega de Río Palmas (205)
Betancuria (215)

history

Betancuria was founded in 1404 by the conqueror Jean de Béthencourt , whose name it bears, and his companion Gadifer de la Salle, mainly with Norman settlers. Since then it has been the capital and government center of the island. Betancuria was replaced by Antigua in 1834, and Puerto de Cabras , now Puerto del Rosario, has been the island's capital since 1860 .

The church of Santa Maria de Betancuria was built in 1410 and was the cathedral of the diocese of Fuerteventura from 1424 to 1431 . Although the location of the place was deliberately chosen in the mountains, there were repeated attacks by pirates. In 1593 the church was badly affected by the attack of the hordes of Xabán Arraez and was then rebuilt in its present form in the 17th century. Thanks to the efforts of the population, the now three-aisled church has remained one of Fuerteventura's major churches.

In addition to the art museum Museo Arto Sacro, there is the local museum Casa Museo de Betancuria . In front of the door is the cannon captured from the Battle of Tuineje in 1734.

The Convento de Buenaventura is located at the northern exit of the town . The former Franciscan monastery, from which the island was evangelized, was dissolved in 1835 in the course of the disamortization in Spain and is now in ruins.

In Vega de Rio Palmas is the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Peña, the patron saint of Fuerteventura.

Attractions

Santa Maria de Betancuria church
Pilgrimage church Nuestra Señora de la Peña in Vega de Río Palmas from the 17th century, the patron saint of the island of Fuerteventura is kept here.
Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Peña in the Mal Paso gorge in Vega de Río Palmas
Ermita de San Inés y San Diego
Iglesia Conventual de San Buenaventura , ruins of the former Franciscan monastery (1416)
Casa Museo de Betancuria , an archaeological and folklore museum with finds from the old Canarian shepherd's settlement La Atalayita , fossils and folklore objects

Views from the winding road FV-30 with the Mirador de Morro Velosa (668 m): The viewpoint was built by the architect Blanca Cabrera after the death of César Manrique (September 25, 1992). The design of the viewpoint is based on a joint earlier project planning by Manrique and Cabrera.

Restaurante Casa Santa Maria with its restored wooden ceiling