Caudete

Caudete municipality
	Caudete - place and surroundings
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Albacete
Comarca :	Alto Vinalopó
Coordinates	38 ° 42 ′ N , 0 ° 59 ′ W Coordinates: 38 ° 42 ′ N , 0 ° 59 ′ W
Height :	560 msnm
Area :	141.61 km²
Residents :	9,963 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	70.36 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	02660
Municipality number ( INE ):	02025
administration
Website :	Caudete

Caudete is a town and a municipality ( municipio ) with 9,963 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Albacete in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha in southeastern Spain . The city lies on the Ruta de la Lana , a medieval trade and pilgrimage route.

Location and climate

Caudete is located in the southeast of New Castile at an altitude of about 560 m . The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 420 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	6,413	5,913	7,862	8,995	9,963

Due to immigration from rural regions 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 grown slowly but steadily since the beginning of the 19th century ( rural exodus ).

economy

In the past the city was mainly agrarian and, to a lesser extent, mercantile-oriented, today trade, handicrafts, industry and the service sector play the dominant roles. The most important agricultural products are wine, olives and almonds; there is also a small leather-processing industry. The city has been connected to the Spanish railway network since 1858 and to the Spanish motorway network via the Autovía A-33 and the Autovía A-31 since around 2012 .

history

Castillo de Caudete

Iglesia de Santa Catalina

Plaza de Toros

There are finds from Iberian times such as the Dama de Caudete and remains of animal figures. In Roman times the place was on the Via Augusta . During the period of Islamic - Moorish rule, Caudete belonged to Villena for a long time and had several mosques . After the reconquest ( reconquista ) by the Christians in 1240 by the troops of Jaime of Aragón , the area was disputed for a long time between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón , which in turn benefited many mudéjares who were still able to live here after the expulsion of the Muslims.

Attractions

The fortress (castillo) , possibly built by the Moors in the 12th century, stands in the middle of the city; she was in 14./15. It was rebuilt in the 18th century as part of the conflict between Castile and Aragón and provided with sloping walls.
The construction of the three-aisled Iglesia de Santa Catalina began in the 14th century; the bell tower (campanario) was completed in 1499 and the crossing dome comes from an 18th century renovation. With the exception of the dome and choir area , the church is vaulted with ribs . Behind the altarpiece (retablo) is a so-called Camarín .
The Sala de la Villa , resting on three arches , was built in the years 1759–64. It architecturally closes off the square in front of the church. Inside there are paintings by local artists.
The Santuario de la Virgen de Gracia was built in the 15th century; however, the building was extensively redesigned around the middle of the 18th century and given a camarín . The neo-Gothic facade dates from the beginning of the 20th century. Inside there are 6 paintings by the local artist José Perez Gil.
In 1907/08, the neo-Gothic church of San Francisco de Asís was built as a chapel for an orphanage . It was also intended as the burial place of the founder Francisco Albalat and his wife Helénè de Caix.
The bullring (plaza de toros) , which was completed in 1910 and mainly made of broken stone and bricks in the neo-Moorish style , is one of the most beautiful in Spain. Today it is mainly used for music events.

Personalities

José Pérez Gil (1918–1998), painter

Web links

Commons : Caudete - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

[1] Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).

[2] Caudete / Villena - climate tables

[3] Caudete - population development

[4] Caudete History

[5] Caudete - Castillo

[6] Caudete Church

[7] Caudete - Sala de la Villa

[8] Caudete - Santuario

[9] Caudete - Chapel

[10] Caudete - Bullring