Garrovillas de Alconétar

Garrovillas de Alconétar municipality
Garrovillas de Alconétar
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Extremadura
Province :	Cáceres
Comarca :	Tagus Salor
Coordinates	39 ° 43 ′  N , 6 ° 33 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 43 ′  N , 6 ° 33 ′  W
Height :	325  msnm
Area :	207 km²
Residents :	2,034 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	9.83 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	10940
Municipality number  ( INE ):	10082
administration
Website :	Garrovillas de Alconétar

Garrovillas de Alconétar ( Estremenian Garrovillas d'Alconeta ) is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 2,034 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Cáceres in the autonomous community of Extremadura . The old town center is classified as Conjunto histórico-artístico .

Location and climate

The place Garrovillas de Alconétar is located on the old trade route of the Via de la Plata about two kilometers south of the Tajo River at an altitude of about 325  m . The provincial capital Cáceres is located approx. 65 km southeast; the Roman city of Mérida is a good 100 km south and the historically significant town of Alcántara about 31 km west. The climate is warm; Rain (approx. 550 mm / year) falls mainly in autumn and spring.

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Garrovillas de Alconétar - Plaza Mayor

Population development

year	1842	1900	1950	2000	2016
Residents	6,574	5,262	6,429	2,509	2.145

The significant population decline in the second half of the 20th century is essentially due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Eye idol from Garrovillas de Alconétar (height 16.3 cm)

Wine and olive cultivation has been practiced in the area since Roman times. The cultivation of wheat and other crops used to be mainly self-sufficient. The favorable location on Via de la Plata promoted the growth of the city, where traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds settled. Tourism is also of economic importance these days.

history

In the municipality of Garrovillas de Alconétar, prehistoric finds have been made - including two dolmens from the early megalithic period and a sandstone idol from the late megalithic period . A Bronze Age sword ( espada ) has also been unearthed. In the 1st millennium BC Chr. Belonged to the area to settlement of the Celtic Vettones , dealing with their western neighbors, the Lusitanians , the Celtiberian War (197-179 v. Chr.) And in the Peninsular War (154-133 v. Chr.) Against the Romans allied . However, their victory could not be prevented; At the height of the imperial era (around 100 to 130 AD) they built a road bridge for the Via de la Plata over the Tajo. There is no news from the Late Antique and Visigothic times. In the 8th century, Arab-Moorish armies conquered almost the entire Iberian Peninsula . Alconétar was temporarily recaptured in 1133 and finally in 1167 under Alfonso VIII (reigned 1158–1214) for the Christians ( reconquista ) and handed over to the Knights Templar . In 1268 Alfonso X (reigned 1252–1284) granted the town its town charter and handed it over to the care of his son Ferdinand de la Cerda , who died in 1275. The place experienced its heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Attractions

Puente de Alconétar

Castillo de Alconétar

• The Plaza Mayor or Plaza de la Constitución, which began in the 15th century and is over 4000 m² in size, is one of the most impressive city squares in all of Spain. Many of the surrounding, mostly two-story houses are lined with arcades . The square also served as a bullring .
• Two or three streets in the old town belonged to the former Jewish quarter (Barrio Judio) .
• The Iglesia de Santa María de la Consolación , built in late Gothic style, rises in the center of the village. Its construction began in 1494 and was completed in 1520. Two arched archivolt portals lead into the three-bay nave .
• The Iglesia de San Pedro Apóstol comes from around the same time. The stone heraldic shields on the bell tower are remarkable . The upper part of the pointed arch portal on the south side has a rectangular frame ( alfiz ) . The three-aisled interior of the church shows an altarpiece from the Renaissance and two side altars from the Baroque period .
• The Palacio de los Condes de Alba de List comes from the 15th century and was the seat of the then landlords of the city.
• Another building from the 16th century is mistakenly called the Casa de los Templarios .
• On the outskirts there is an almost modern court column (rollo or picota) .

Surroundings

• The Convento San Antonio de Padua , built at the end of the 15th century, belongs to the Franciscan order and is located a little outside the city. Church and cloister (claustro) are kept almost unadorned.
• Approx. 12 km (driving distance) east of the city center are the remains of a Roman bridge ( Puente de Alconétar ) with its unusual segmental arches .
• Not far from there, when the water level is low, the tower of the Castillo de Alconétar rises from the water of the reservoir.

Personalities

• Alonso de Mendoza (around 1485–1550), founder of the Bolivian city of La Paz , was born in Garrovillas de Alconétar.

Web links

Commons : Garrovillas de Alconétar  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Garrovillas de Alconétar, sights - photos + information (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. ↑ Garrovillas de Alconétar - climate tables
3. ^ Garrovillas de Alconétar - population development
4. ^ Garrovillas de Alconétar - History
5. ↑ Garrovillas de Alconétar - Castillo de Alconétar