Illueca (Zaragoza)

Illueca municipality
	Illueca - the townscape
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Aragon
Province :	Zaragoza
Comarca :	Aranda (Spain)
Coordinates	41 ° 32 ′ N , 1 ° 38 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 32 ′ N , 1 ° 38 ′ W
Height :	600 msnm
Area :	24.86 km²
Residents :	2,924 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	117.62 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	50250
Municipality number ( INE ):	50126
administration
Website :	Illueca

Illueca is a northern Spanish city and a municipality ( municipio ) with 2,924 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the western province of Zaragoza in the autonomous community of Aragon . The place belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Illueca is on a hill above the Río Aranda about 86 km (driving distance) west of the provincial capital Saragossa at an altitude of about 575 to 600 m ; the lovely town of Calatayud is 40 km to the south. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 410 mm / year) falls throughout the year, with the exception of the rather dry summer months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	1,773	1,738	1,969	3,295	3,044

The mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the associated loss of jobs led to a significant decline in the rural population in the second half of the 20th century; this migrated to the smaller and larger cities ( rural exodus ).

economy

For centuries, the residents of the village lived directly or indirectly as self-sufficiency from agriculture, which also included livestock farming. From the 17th to the 19th century, weaving mills played an important role in economic life; today it's shoe manufacturing. Apartments (casas rurales) are also rented out.

history

Traces of Celtiberian , Roman and Visigoth settlement have not yet been discovered. In the 8th century Arab-Moorish armies advanced into the upper Ebro Valley; A large number of Muslims lived in Illueca . Around 1120 the area was recaptured by Alfonso I of Aragon ( reconquista ) . It was later disputed between the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile . The territorial dispute with Castile only ended with the marriage of the Catholic kings Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragón in 1469. In the years 1609 to 1615 all Moriscos were asked again to publicly profess Christianity or to emigrate.

Attractions

Illueca - Castillo-Palacio

The elongated Castillo-Palacio del Papa Luna rises on the castle hill and was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries. Large parts are now used as a hotel.

The single-nave parish church of San Juan Bautista dates from the 14th century; it was expanded in the 17th century to include a dome-covered crossing and a western apse. The entire church is made of bricks in the Mudejar style . The gold-plated altarpiece (retablo) is a work of the late Baroque ( Churriguerism ) and contains two paintings.