Borja (Saragossa)

Borja municipality
	Borja - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Zaragoza
Comarca :	Campo de Borja
Coordinates	41 ° 50 ′ N , 1 ° 32 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 50 ′ N , 1 ° 32 ′ W
Height :	448 msnm
Area :	107.29 km²
Residents :	4,969 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	46.31 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	50540
Municipality number ( INE ):	50055
administration
Website :	Borja

Borja is a Spanish town and municipality ( municipio ) with 4,969 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the northwest of the province of Zaragoza in the autonomous region of Aragon . The northern Spanish Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago de Soria) leads through the municipality.

location

Borja is about 65 km (driving distance) northwest of the provincial capital of Saragossa at an altitude of about 450 m . The city of Soria in the old Castilian neighboring province of the same name is located about 90 km to the west. The small town is dominated by an imposing rock (Cerro de la Corona) . The hamlet (pedanía) El Santuario de Misericordia , located about 6 km to the northwest, also belongs to the municipality . The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 450 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	5,601	5,701	4,972	4,256	4,946

Despite the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture , the demographic situation of the community has remained essentially constant.

economy

For centuries the inhabitants of the place lived directly or indirectly (as traders or craftsmen) from agriculture. Viticulture played a major economic role in the 19th century until the outbreak of the phylloxera crisis . Today agriculture is increasingly being replaced by smaller industrial companies in the village, but the almond tree plantations and the wines of the area ( Denominación de Origen Campo de Borja) are also contributing to the economic strength of the city.

history

The origins of today's small town very likely go back to the Celtiberian Castrum Bursau , which was handed down from antiquity and which was already in the 5th century BC. Existed and later had its own right to mint coins. After the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. Chr. Subject Bursau the jurisdiction of Zaragoza ( Caesaraugusta ). No relics from the Visigothic period have yet been found. A new era dawned at the beginning of the 8th century with the arrival of Islam ; the place was called at this time Burya , which means something like "tower" or "fortress". The reconquest ( reconquista ) by the Christians in 1120 was very likely to have taken place relatively peacefully - however, the Muslims had to leave their houses within the city walls and settle in front of them (extramuros) . In the period that followed, many (again) accepted the Christian faith; the rest were in the beginning of the 16th century and under Philip III. expelled by the Duke of Lerma in the years 1609-1615.

Casa de los Angulo

In the 15th century, border disputes began between the expanding Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon . Due to its strategically important location not far from the border with Castile, Borja received city rights from King Alfonso V of Aragón in 1438 . With the marriage between Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragón in 1469, the intra-Spanish conflicts were settled and town and country experienced a cultural and economic heyday. In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) Borja got between the fronts of the Bourbons and the Habsburgs and was shot at and captured by the Aragonese artillery in 1706. After the end of the war, the partially destroyed city was honored by the Bourbon King Philip V with various honors - in addition to the tower and bull, the city's coat of arms received a lion and a lily and a banner with the inscription Saqueada por ser siempre fidelísima ('burned because always loyal to').

Attractions

Ayuntamiento

Casa de la Estanca

The rock that dominates the city has been used as a fortress since Celtiberian times and fortified several times by additional systems. Most of it, however, has disappeared over the centuries.
On the south side of the castle hill, several rock cellars ( bodegas ) have been driven into the crumbly rock.
The town hall (ayuntamiento) , built entirely of bricks, is located in a palace belonging to the Crown of Aragon from 1532–1534. The building, characterized by three differently designed storeys, is crowned by a bell gable (espadaña) , which was otherwise reserved for church buildings. The stone coat of arms above the portal, held by two large lions and covered by a crown, dates from the 18th century.
In the narrow streets of the upper town there are several city palaces with coats of arms from the 15th to 17th centuries.
The most important church in Borja is the Iglesia de Santa María, which was raised to the rank of collegiate church by Pope Eugene IV in 1445 . It combines late Gothic with neoclassical elements of the 19th century. Several wooden altarpieces (retablos) are of particular importance .

Only the vaulted apse remains of the late Romanesque church of San Miguel ; the actual church building, covered by a wooden gable roof, took on a completely different appearance over the centuries - in the 15th century, for example, the Gothic side chapels were added, which opened up the church as a whole. Since the late 1980s, the church has housed the city's archaeological museum with numerous exhibits.

Right next to it are the buildings of the Mudejar style of bricks built Convento de Santa Clara , which was a church until the year 1693rd Until then, the nunnery was connected to the Church of San Miguel - since 1608/9 via a semicircular pierced barrier (celosia) .

Surroundings

About 6 km northeast of the city on the banks of an artificially dammed lake is the Casa de la Estanca - a building from the first half of the 16th century in the Mudejar style, in which the guard over the water distribution lived in spring and summer. In 2012 the building was completely restored.

"Ecce homo" by Elías García Martínez before the "restoration"

“Ecce homo” by Borja

Borja gained international attention in 2012 when Cecilia Giménez, then over 80 years old , wanted to restore a fresco from the 19th century in the Santuario de Misericordia , a hermit church (ermita) about 6 km to the northwest . The wall painting with the representation of Jesus was part of the work " Ecce homo ", which is attributed to the 19th century artist Elías García Martínez .

The pensioner spontaneously wanted to repair the wall painting, which had been damaged by peeling. It was reported that this was done with good intentions but without the permission of the relevant authorities. The improper restoration caused considerable damage to the work. Experts were then tasked with rescuing the 19th century work. According to the Spanish news agency EFE , however, restoring the image is extremely difficult.

The clumsy overpainting caused a sensation beyond the Spanish borders. The defaced image was mocked by the press either as " Monchhichi " or "inflated hedgehog" and became one of the great Internet phenomena of 2012. Jokers mounted it in many other images of celebrities and works of art and even printed it on clothing. The hype caused an unexpected tourist boom, which grew so big that the city decided to share the income with the pensioner, who was first maligned.

Gigantes - Rey y Reina

Festivals

In the 3rd or 4th week of September there are parades with the figures of the Gigantes y Cabezudos , which are so popular in many places in Spain and Catalonia . The Gigantes are about 3 to 4 meters tall and weigh about 40 kg; they depict figures from Spanish history (e.g. the Catholic kings Isabella and Ferdinand). The Cabezudos only have large, painted heads made of wire mesh and paper mache or cloths soaked in plaster; they act as courtiers. Some of the figures date back to the 19th century and have recently been restored.