El Rocío

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Almonte municipality: El Rocío
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El Rocío (Spain)
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Basic data
Autonomous Community : Andalusia
Province : Huelva
Comarca : Condado de Huelva
Coordinates 37 ° 8 ′  N , 6 ° 29 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 8 ′  N , 6 ° 29 ′  W
Residents : 1,639 (2011) INE
Postal code : 21750
Area code: 21005000400

Ermita del Rocío

El Rocío is a small town in Spain directly on the Coto de Doñana National Park in the Huelva province . It belongs to the municipality of Almonte . Rocío means dew or morning dew in German .

Townscape

El Rocío is a cuboid east of the A-483 that connects Almonte with Matalascañas . Apart from the A-483, which runs along the edge, the place has hardly any paved roads, so the most common means of transport in the place are off-road vehicles and horse-drawn vehicles . The predominantly two-storey buildings and large clay courts give the impression of an abandoned western town (for the majority of the year), as many buildings of the brotherhoods are only inhabited or lively for pilgrimages on Whitsun .

The center of the place extends around the church Ermita del Rocío , there is also the tourist information. There are a few small souvenir shops, several restaurants and bars as well as a few hostals and hotels. Further north within the village there are also two supermarkets and there is also a gas station on the A-483. To the west of the A-483 is the Museo de El Rocío on the southern outskirts . To the south, the place connects directly to the Coto de Doñana National Park , from the square in front of the church one overlooks an area (marismas) that is watered in the winter months, while further south, extensive pine forests begin.

Pilgrimage

The Virgin of El Rocío

El Rocío is known beyond the borders of Spain as a place of pilgrimage. The Holy Virgin of El Rocío is venerated - often referred to as the Blanca Paloma (White Dove).

At Pentecost, over a million pilgrims - Romeros - come to the pilgrimage - Romería - in the small town, which has only about 800 inhabitants for the rest of the year.

Over 100 brotherhoods travel from all over Spain and z. T. from abroad. On their traditional route, the Camino to El Rocío, they visit other brotherhoods. A well-known place where many brotherhoods pass by is Villamanrique de la Condesa in the province of Seville . On the Saturday before Pentecost, the brotherhoods ride, drive and step into El Rocío and pass the pilgrimage church, the Ermita , where they are welcomed. Then they drive on to their houses, which are empty for the rest of the year.

On Sunday evening the believers gather in the hermitage and in front of it to pray together. Traditionally at sunrise - but in reality mostly around 2 or 3 a.m. - members of the Mother Brotherhood of Almonte skip the barriers ( el salto de la reja ) and carry the statue of virgins outside. From there the Blanca Paloma goes to all brotherhoods. There priests of the brotherhoods carried on their shoulders hold prayers of thanks and intercession for the coming year.

Many believers try to touch the virgin or at least her robe or the pedestal, especially the sick and old, but also children, should receive a special blessing in this way. However, the porters from Almonte make it very difficult for bystanders to approach the statue - sometimes you can also see that children are passed over the heads of the bystanders or thrown in order to be able to carry out the blessing touch.

From Tuesday the brotherhoods will leave again - partly via their caminos - to bring the blessing of the Madonna to their hometowns.

Livelihoods

Visitor center "El Acebuche"

tourism

El Rocío lives very much from pilgrimage tourism - although it only lasts about 14 days a year. During this time, accommodation - if it is available at all - or means of transport such as carriages, horses, etc. cost several times what is required for the rest of the year.

The rest of the year, visitors to the Coto de Doñana National Park are important - but most visitors spend the night in the resorts on the Costa de la Luz such as Matalascañas or Mazagón . El Rocío is also home to the La Rocina and Palacio Acebron visitor centers of the national park. About 11 km in the direction of Matalascañas is another visitor center, El Acebuche , from which you can explore the part of the nature park west of the road on footpaths or book guided tours through the national park.

Agriculture

Around the place there are many fincas that operate agriculture - mainly the cultivation of fruit, which is very valued inside and outside Spain. In particular, this is a main growing area for strawberries and, above all, cultivated blueberries . The "earliest free-range strawberries in Europe" are known. The blueberries from the region are outstanding fresh produce. The berries are collected by hand directly in the sales bowls, packed right in the fields, pre-cooled and picked up by trucks and exported directly to Central and Northern Europe.

Web links

Commons : El Rocío  - collection of images, videos and audio files

More or less religious sides:

Brotherhoods: