Costitx
Costitx municipality | ||
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coat of arms | Map of Spain | |
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Basic data | ||
Autonomous Community : | Balearic Islands | |
Island: | Mallorca | |
Comarca : | Plà de Mallorca | |
Coordinates | 39 ° 39 ′ N , 2 ° 57 ′ E | |
Height : | 138 msnm | |
Area : | 15.35 km² | |
Residents : | 1,288 (Jan 1, 2019) | |
Population density : | 83.91 inhabitants / km² | |
Municipality number ( INE ): | 07017 | |
Nearest airport : | Palma ( Son Sant Joan / Palma de Mallorca , 22 km ) | |
administration | ||
Official language : | Catalan , Castilian | |
Mayor : | Antoni Salas Roca ( PI ) | |
Website : | www.ajcostitx.net | |
Location of the municipality | ||
Mallorca![]() |
Costitx is a small community on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca .
statistics
The municipality of Costitx extends over an area of 15.35 km² and the official population on January 1st, 2019 was 1288 inhabitants, which means that the population density is 84 inhabitants per km². In 2006 the proportion of foreigners was 12.2% (119), the proportion of German residents was 5.7% (56). Even if there has been a certain demographic decline since 1930, the population has increased slightly in recent years. 656 inhabitants (year 2008) live in the town of the same name, whereas 367 people live scattered outside the town.
year | 1877 | 1887 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
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Residents | 1,352 | 1,333 | 1,326 | 1,337 | 1.317 | 1,284 | 1,174 | 1,074 | 897 | 749 | 683 | 808 | 924 | 1,133 |
The male residents of Costitx call themselves “Costitxer” in the Mallorcan native language, the female “Costitxera”.
geography
location
Costitx is located on the main road MA-3240 Inca - Sineu on the Balearic island of Mallorca. In administrative terms, Costitx belongs to the Comarca Pla de Mallorca (Association of the Municipalities of the Plain of Mallorca).
landscape
The municipality of Costitx represents the most typical features of the flat part of Mallorca, i. H. with hills - which do not reach a height of 200 meters - that alternate with valleys, interrupted by the mountain stream of Pina and Rafal Garcès .
climate
The mean precipitation in this area is 500 to 600 l per square meter on an annual average, with the most precipitation falling in September at around 66 liters per square meter. The rainiest time is in July with only about 11 liters.
history
The discovery of 18 archaeological occurrences in the vicinity of the municipality testify that the area was already settled in prehistoric times ( Talaiot culture ). The post-Talayotic bull heads made of bronze Caps de Bou de Costitx are particularly valuable finds on the grounds of the Son Corró estate . Later, during the Arab rule, Costitx belonged to the district of "Qanarusa" (Canarrossa). With the conquest of Majorca by King Jaume I , the individual districts were transferred to the Vice Count of Bearn, Gastó de Montcada, who in turn ceded the settlement around Costitx to Arnau de Santacília. Costitx then became the parish for the whole parish of Canarrossa until, in 1238, the parish was given to Sencelles .
In the 17th century the community experienced a significant increase in population. In 1812 a lengthy process began, aimed at independence from Sencelles, and only ended in 1855 with the loss of the settlements of Jornets, Binifat and Ruberts.
In 1895 almost no one on Mallorca knew about the prehistoric Costitx finds such as the Caps de Bou, the sparrows, bronze eagles, ceramics and Punic necklaces. A Spanish archaeological commission asked the owner of the property to allow further excavations and to close the area to unauthorized persons. At that time, the law granted the owner of the site a payment for the discovered objects, who in this case promptly demanded the then proud sum of 700 duros (3,500 pts.) For the find. A lot of money when you consider that a laborer's daily wage was no more than one peseta.
The three bronze caps de bou (bulls' heads) date from the 6th to 5th centuries BC. One of them is as big as the natural model, the other two pieces are smaller. All are cast in one piece and have a striking attention to detail and naturalness in common: the eyes, horns, mouth and nostrils of the bull's heads almost look as if the artist had removed a mask from a bull. Great resemblance to finds in Sardinia and Malta , in Persia , Portugal and Greece . This means that the Balearic natives, of whom there are no written records and who were always referred to as primitive in well-known accounts by Greek and Roman writers, must have maintained lively contact with other cultures in the early days. The bull cult was known in the Mediterranean region from an early age. Bull cults can already be found in ancient Egypt, frescoes in the palace of Knossos on Crete (approx. 1500 BC) show the connection.
The penniless archaeological society failed to raise the amount. They turned on the Spanish press and succeeded in preventing the bulls' heads from being sold to art dealers and disappearing forever from the island and from Spain. Two Mallorcans, both not from Costitx, contacted the central government in Madrid and managed to get the finds into the national museum there.
At the time it seemed as if Costitx had lost its landmarks forever. It was the mayoress Maria Antónia Munar who worked tirelessly to bring these prehistoric finds so important for the history of Mallorca back to Costitx. In 1995 the Santuari de Son Corró was restored and replicas of the impressive bull heads have decorated it ever since.
politics
The mayor, Maria Antónia Munar , temporarily provided the autonomist party Unió Mallorquina (UM), which received 58.62% of the votes in the municipal elections. The social democratic PSM-EN with 28.02% and the conservative PP with 11.27% of the votes have further seats in the municipal council.
Culture and sights
In the higher part of the municipality are the center of the village as well as the most important mansions, which together with some holm oak forests form an incomparable landscape.
The main building of the town center is the church from the 17th century. On the outskirts, namely in places where there is the most wind, there are some windmills, z. B. “Can Vallès” and “d'en Joi”; In contrast to other places in the Mallorcan plain, not everything in Costitx was concentrated on a single mill. Buildings of a religious character complete the village character of this municipality, such as the chapel “Mare de Déu de Costitx” and the crosses that can be found at the various entrances to the village. Of these crosses, “sa Creu”, located at the entrance of the Inca to the street, is to be emphasized.
The Santuari de Son Corró , located on the road to Sencelles, dates from the Talayot culture and was restored in 1995 thanks to financial support from the City of Costitx and the Govern Balear. Towards the end of the 19th century, three bronze bull heads cast from one piece (caps de bou) were found here, one of which is natural size. Both because of their size and quality, these specimens are considered to be the most important testimonies of the bull cult from the Mallorcan megalithic culture.
In the past, several soda wells were used to provide water, such as the double well in the village itself, the one on the connecting road to Cas Canar or the well called "Celat" at the entrance to the village.
Other notable local points:
- Planetarium Mallorca with the OAM Costitx observatory
- Poblat de Navetes des Turassot near the planetarium
- Son Corró estate with the Santuari de Son Corró
Festivals
- January 20th, Feast of Sant Sebastià
- September 8th, festival of the Mare de Déu de Costitx.
- On the 1st Sunday after Easter, the Trobada procession.
Markets
- Weekly market: every Saturday in the Mare de Déu and del Jardí squares .
Economy and Infrastructure
Observatory and planetarium
The observatory, inaugurated in May 1991, is the only astronomical center in the Balearic Islands. The funding from the Balearic Government (Department of Culture, Education and Sport), the Sparkasse La Caixa, the Costitx City Council and the Mallorcan Astronomy Organization (OAM) had a twofold objective: On the one hand, to promote research within the framework of the GEA (Association for the Study of Astrophysics ) and the guidelines of the Canarian Observatory and, on the other hand, to familiarize pupils, students and anyone with an interest in astronomy.
education
Part of the population of the municipality of Costitx has no school education (approx. 280 people) and approx. 45 inhabitants are illiterate. Around 180 people have basic education and around 140 people have a secondary school leaving certificate. Around 21 people have various degrees of vocational training. There are around 43 people with a high school degree in the Costitx region and around 23 with a middle university degree. About 15 people hold a higher academic title.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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).