Grañón

Grañón municipality
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	La Rioja
Comarca :	Santo Domingo de la Calzada
Coordinates	42 ° 27 ′ N , 3 ° 2 ′ W Coordinates: 42 ° 27 ′ N , 3 ° 2 ′ W
Height :	723 msnm
Area :	31.01 km²
Residents :	254 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	8.19 inhabitants / km²
Founding:	9th century
Postal code :	26259
Municipality number ( INE ):	26069
administration
Mayor :	José Ignacio Castro Miguel ( PP , 2007)
Website :	www.granon.org
Location of the municipality

Grañón is a place on the Camino de Santiago French Way in the autonomous region of La Rioja in northern Spain .

General

The municipality is located in the west of the Rioja, in the so-called Rioja Alta (high Rioja) and borders the province of Burgos . The municipality is divided into mountainous, forested areas (around 10%) and undulating to flat terrain. The water balance is characterized by a low volume of water, so that in hot summers the water allocation is partially restricted. The amount of water is reflected in the cultivation of the largely agricultural areas: predominantly plants are grown which, like grain, are suitable for drywall construction. Potatoes and legumes are grown on some irrigated areas. Beyond the predominantly agricultural economic base, however, there are also examples of economic diversification , mostly in the field of rural tourism.

The population of Grañón is clearly on the decline. This situation results from the low economic development opportunities offered by conventional, extensive agriculture. Well-educated young people have to at least commute to Logroño in order to realize professional opportunities. This means that mostly older people or poorly or poorly qualified young people remain in the village.

Number of inhabitants
year	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1981	1990	2000	2007
Residents	1.007	1,039	1,033	1,054	1,060	1,128	967	737	543	525	412	355

history

Church of John the Baptist in Grañón

The starting point for the development of Grañón was a castle, which according to Crónicas Najerenses from 885 by order of Alfonso III. was built. Other research points to 889 as the start of construction. The place of construction of the defense system known as Mirabel or Mirabelia was a hill, around which small settlements or hamlets developed and from there (after being awarded the Fuero) Granionne .

Grañón was in the second half of the 11th century in the territorial disputes between Sancho VI. (Navarre) and Alfonso VIII (Castile) involved. In 1176 negotiations between Navarre and Castile began under the auspices of King Henry II of England to end the war. The King of Navarre demanded that Mirabel be entitled to this due to inheritance claims. The fort remained in Castilian hands. In 1187 Alfonso VIII granted the place a Fuero, with which he wanted to give the settlement new impetus in its development.

The new settlement developed around the Johanneskloster (Monasterio de San Juan), the place which today the Johanneskirche (Iglesia de San Juan Bautista) occupies. Through the construction Domingo de la Calzadas and the Way of St. James was in the area a new dynamic: García put the old Roman highway restore or build new spans and thus led the way towards Burgos , Grañón and Redecilla del Camino passing. Various pilgrims' hospitals are mentioned u. a. today's Ermita de Carrasquedo. Grañón was walled in the Middle Ages, of which no structural remains have been preserved. The prosperous urban development and the relocation of the main battle line of the Reconquista to the south finally led the castle to insignificance.

The fertile soils around Grañón were the subject of various territorial disputes. The best known is handed down in the “Leyenda de los Valientes”, the subject of which was the dispute over the approximately 1000 hectare Dehesa between Grañón and Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Legend of the Brave (Leyenda de los Valientes)

For centuries there was a dispute between Grañón and Santo Domingo over a dehesa , an oak willow, between the two places. The residents of Grañón observed with great annoyance that their neighbors from Santo Domingo kept using the forest, which they considered to be their property. The Calceatensians contradicted this and invoked their own property rights. The neighbors clashed again and again and the situation escalated into an armed conflict. The elders of both villages discussed how the situation could be defused and decided that both villages should appoint a man to lead the fight on behalf of the people and to win the right to the dehesa.

Santo Domingo chose a tried and tested fighter who prepared for the fight with exercises and special food. Martín García was to compete for Grañón, who continued to feed his cattle and his fields until the fight and, as usual, ate red beans, the Caparrones .

On the day of the fight, the fighter from Santo Domingo had rubbed himself with oil so that he would not be within reach. Martín García is said to have met this difficulty in such a way that he inserted his finger into the opening of the anus of the opponent, lifted it up and threw it far into the country. In this way the dispute was settled and Grañón won the dehesa for himself.

To commemorate the victorious battle, the town celebrates a pilgrimage every August to the Cross of the Brave (Cruz de Valientes) between the two villages where the battle is said to have taken place. There, together with the inhabitants of Santo Domingo, the fight is commemorated, flowers are laid in memory of Martín García and Caparrones are eaten.

Worth seeing

Urban development and secular buildings

The medieval Grañón developed mainly with four square streets around the Johanneskloster. The streets were / are Calle La Parrilla, Calle Santiago, Calle Mayor and Calle El Caño. Traditional architecture can be found in the two oldest streets, Calle Santiago and Calle Mayor. These are mainly two-story houses with broken and natural stone masonry on the lower floor and brick masonry on the upper floor. Large coats of arms on many facades indicate the families who had the house built and / or who lived in it. The oldest houses date from the 16th and 17th centuries, and there is another house from the 18th century on Calle El Caño with two floors and ironwork on the balcony. There was a simple monastery (San Juan). At the beginning of the 20th century Two new squares were created, the Plaza del Hórreo and the Plaza de Ávila.

Examples of public constructions are the washplaces (lavadero) and fountains, some of which are still used by the residents today. Two of the previously numerous washing bays have been preserved. They were used by the local women until the beginning of the 20th century and then gradually. An unpublished study by María Amor García Antolín names the oldest lavadero that is located just outside at the end of Las Cercas street. It was built in the 18th century and consists of a rectangular water basin with bevelled edges (for soaping the laundry) and a roof that is open on two sides and has recently been reconstructed. The other lavadero is on halfway Las Cercas next to the Frontón . The ensemble consists of a fountain built between 1862 and 1864, a round one from 1885 and, connected to it, a large rectangular concrete wash trough that is fed from the fountain.

The fountain in Plaza de Ávila is the second oldest in town. It was erected in the middle of the square in 1926 and consists of a column with a gargoyle and a basin in the shape of a shell. The cattle trough, which is also available, is no longer used today. In the 1990s, a new fountain was built on the town hall in the Plaza del Hórreo to honor and refresh the pilgrims.

Sacred buildings

Due to the location on the Way of St. James, various sacred buildings were built in the course of the Middle Ages; those that exist today in Grañon are:

St. John's Church (Iglesia Parroquial de San Juan Bautista, Plaza del Hórreo)

Three-aisled church house with presbytery and octagonal apse , at the end of which the sacristy is attached to the south . The church was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, the sacristy and the tower made of cut natural stone were added later. Three of the various builders are known: Master Fernando directed the work in 1537, Juan de Huequel and Juan de Elgorriaga worked on the church until 1573. Inside, the baptismal font from the 12th century protrudes, the only testimony of the original monastery, and that Altar retable dedicated to St. John. It is richly decorated and was created in the Plateresque style between 1545 and 1556 . The reliefs are characterized by figures full of movement. Performing artists were Natura Borgoñón (construction), Bernal Forment and Juan de Beaugrant (carvings) and Francisco de Lubiano ( polychromy ). The choir stalls with 18 seats in the high choir are also outstanding.

Thanks to the restoration carried out in 1993, the church is in an excellent state of preservation.

Ermita de los Judíos

The building is located at the former exit of the town and at the intersection of the streets Villarta – Quintana and Morales – Corporales and can be described as a covered crossroads for the time it was built. It is built in the Plateresque style and houses a cross that stands on a Tuscan column with the inscription "Hizole Vicente clerigo beneficiado en San Juan de Grañon" ("He made vice priest beneficiary in Grañon"). There is also a Mannerist retable from 1540, with a depiction of Jesus before the crucifixion, being beaten by the Jews standing around. The retable was restored in 1989. The Ermita de los Judíos is closed all year round and only opens on May 1st for the procession of the Virgen de Carrasquedo.

Ermita de Carrasquedo

Ermita de Carrasquedo

The Ermita is located 1.5 km south of the village in a forest and takes the place of the documented pilgrim hospice Heiligkreuz von Carrasquedo (Hospital de Santa Cruz de Carrasquedo). The current building is a Baroque building from the 17th century, single-nave with four vaults, transept, rectangular apse and sacristy. The crossing is vaulted with a dome with a lantern structure , the nave with a barrel vault . The altarpiece is baroque and was created by Diego de Ichazo and restored in 1989. The Ermita is home to the representation of the patroness of Grañón, the Virgin of (Virgen de) Carrasquedo.

Flora and fauna

There are two wooded areas in the municipality: “Monte Carrasquedo” and “Monte Alto”. The “Monte Carrasquedo” is located to the south, is slightly hilly and the tree population is characterized by oak and Pyrenees oak , there is also the eponymous holm oak (Carrasca), maple, hazelnut and wild church as well as two types of pine: forest and Monterey pine . The bushes consists of ( Heather , Cornwall Heath , biércol , sloe , juniper , wild rose, blackberries , Cistus y calicotome spinosa ). Other plants on site are: oregano , field thistle , small-flowered mullein , common thorn apple , goose feet and wild marjoram .

The “Monte Alto” is of a smaller area and is almost completely made up of red beech and Pyrenean oak. A small part has been reforested with Scots pine. Anemones , violets , holly , broom heather and Cornwall heather grow in the vicinity of the beech trees . There is also kitten pasture , hazel bushes, maples and wild church. Juniper, heather, broom, common heather and ferns grow in the oak trees.

The birds found are blue and great tit , finch , woodpecker , jay , robin , nightingale , black kite , hawk and sparrowhawk . The mammals are represented by squirrels , rats , wild boars , foxes and badgers . Various types of lizards can be observed among the reptiles, as well as snakes depending on the season.

Festivals and Traditions

Sociocultural life in Grañón is supported by four associations, among others: The Friends of the Ermita de Carrasquedo (Asociación de Amigos de la Ermita de Carrasquedo), the Martín García Pensioners' Association (Asociación de la Tercera Edad Martín García), the association of the women of Grañón (Asociación de mujeres de Grañón) and the youth club "Peña Cuatro Cantones". The Asociación de Amigos de la Ermita de Carrasquedo was founded in 1989, organizes various activities in August during the cultural week (Semana Cultural) and publishes the magazine Mirabel (formerly La Voz Cultural ) three times a year , which contains interesting articles about life in Grañón. The youth club also comes out mainly in August with activities for children, including games and the distribution of chorizo during the Fiestas de Gracias .

During the year Grañón celebrates many festivals, the most important of which are:

Fiesta de la Virgen de Carrasquedo, March 25th: Mass in the Ermita, then a festival around the Ermita.

Parade of the Virgen de Carrasquedo, May 1st: The Virgin of Carrasquedo is brought in procession from the Ermita to the Church of San Juan Bautista, where it remains for the summer. The procession is accompanied by dancers who dance to the music of the bagpipes and drums. Before arriving in town, a small procession with a representation of St. John comes towards her to welcome her. After the meeting of the saints, small poems are usually recited in cross rhymes . On the following Sunday, the Virgen is carried once more through the city and to bless the fields.

St. John's Festival , June 24th and 25th (San Juan y San Juanito): John's festival and fire, at dawn carts are decorated on the surrounding hills, with which one then pulls through the village and wakes the people. The residents donate cakes and drinks.

Thanksgiving (Fiestas de Gracias), last week of August: Thanksgiving and return of the Virgen to the Ermita for wintering. On the last day of the festival , patatas a la Riojana (Riojan potato dish) are cooked and eaten around the Ermita .

Other cultural events:

Light and Sound Festival (Festival de Luz y Sonido), August: Theater spectacles in and around St. John's Church on subjects from local history that are interwoven with the Way of St. James. It is organized by the Asociación Cultural de Amigos de la Ermita de Carrasquedo and ends with a light and sound spectacle that includes the main retable.

Bean meal on the cross of the brave (Caparrones en la Cruz de los Valientes), mid-August: see legend of the brave .

“Living Bethlehem”: since December 2006, the village has been transformed into a village from Jesus' time at night in the run-up to Christmas. The initiative came from a priest and is implemented with the participation of the whole town.

Market day, Wednesdays: weekly market

Personalities related to Grañón

Martín García , local hero who won the dehesa between the two places in a duel against Santo Domingo de la Calzada .
García Ordónez - El Crespo de Grañón , influential nobleman and opponent of the Cid , he is mentioned in the Cantar de Mio Cid .

literature

Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
Cordula Rabe: Spanish Way of St. James. From the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. All stages - with variants and height profiles. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7633-4330-0 ( Rother hiking guide ).
Klaus Herbers , The Way of St. James : With a medieval pilgrim guide on the way to Santiago de Compostela, Tübingen, 1986, ISBN 3-87808-312-2 .

Web links

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

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).

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Francés "

← Previous location: Santo Domingo de la Calzada 7 km | Grañón | Next town: Redecilla del Camino 4.5 km →

[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).