Elvillar

Elvillar / Bilar municipality
Elvillar - town view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Basque Country
Province :	Álava
Comarca :	Cuadrilla de Laguardia-Rioja Alavesa
Coordinates	42 ° 34 ′  N , 2 ° 33 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 34 ′  N , 2 ° 33 ′  W
Height :	585  msnm
Area :	17.5 km²
Residents :	333 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	19.03 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	01309
Municipality number  ( INE ):	01023
administration
Website :	Elvillar / Bilar

Elvillar ( Basque : Bilar ) is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 333 inhabitants (January 1, 2019) in the province of Álava in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country in northern Spain . The place belongs to the wine-growing region Rioja Alavesa .

Location and climate

The place Elvillar / Bilar is located in the center of the province of Álava at an altitude of about 585  m . The closest major city is Logroño , a good 17 km (driving distance) south-east ; the worth seeing place Laguardia , to which Elvillar belonged until the 17th century, is located approx. 6 km southwest. The climate is temperate to mild; Rain (approx. 640 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	794	762	690	363	348

As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture, the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms, the number of inhabitants has fallen to the current low since the middle of the 20th century.

economy

In earlier centuries the residents lived as self-sufficiency mainly from the yields of their fields and house gardens; Wine was also grown on a small scale. The place itself functioned as a market and trade center, but craftsmen and service providers also settled here. The increasing importance of viticulture and wine tourism in the Rioja has had a stabilizing effect on employment in the last few decades.

history

Dolmen La Hechicera

Dolmen from a different perspective

Palaeolithic finds in the Los Husos cave and two Neolithic megalithic tombs ( dolmen ), one of which has only survived in fragments, are the earliest evidence of the presence of humans. Celts , Romans , Visigoths and Moors - despite the proximity to the Ebro Valley - left no archaeologically usable traces on the municipal area. In 1667, the place was granted independence from Laguardia by Charles II .

Attractions

• The megalithic passage grave Chabola de la Hechicera (German for "witch's house") belongs to the Ruta de los dólmenes . It rises on the highest point of a hill about 200 m away from the village and consists only of three orthostats with a cover plate - broken into three parts but put back together again; There are also some stones from the corridor area. The dolmen was formerly covered by a tumulus made of stones the size of a fist or forearm, on which grass had grown over time.
• The 16th century parish church (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción) rises on the site of a destroyed castle (castillo) or a Romanesque predecessor building, of which remains are still preserved in the north wall; A defensive character cannot be denied because of the high and almost windowless outer walls. The basement of the bell tower (campanario) has a square floor plan; the upper floor, on the other hand, is octagonal and ends in a pointed helmet . The nave is covered with a star vault , which shows even more complicated shapes above the apse . The altar retable (retablo) by Arnao de Bruselas and others with scenes from the childhood of Christ is one of the most imposing in the Rioja. The font was made in the 17th century.
• In the middle of the village is the Casa del Indiano , a three-storey city palace from the 18th century with balcony windows and rounded corners, in which an elaborately crafted stone coat of arms can be seen.

Web links

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

• Elvillar, Dolmen - Photos + Info (Spanish)
• Elvillar, Church - Photos + Info (Spanish)
• Elvillar, Casa del Indiano - Photos + Info (Spanish)

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. ↑ Elvillar - Population Development