Iznájar

Iznájar municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Cordoba
Comarca :	Subbética cordobesa
Coordinates	37 ° 15 ′  N , 4 ° 18 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 15 ′  N , 4 ° 18 ′  W
Height :	539  msnm
Area :	136.36 km²
Residents :	4,261 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	31.25 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	14970
Municipality number  ( INE ):	14037
administration
Mayor :	Dª Isabel Lobato Padilla ( PSOE )
Website :	www.iznajar.es

Iznájar is a municipality in the Spanish province of Cordoba in Andalusia . The inhabitants call themselves Iznajeños and Iznajeñas.

Geographical location

The place, which is dominated by the castle Castillo de Hisn-Ashar and the parish church Santiago Apóstol , is 110 km south-southeast of the provincial capital Córdoba , on a peninsula on the reservoir Embalse de Iznájar .

Place name and history

The place name is derived from the Arabic Hisn-Ashar (حصن عشر), which means cheerful castle .

Remains of Iberian and Roman settlements have been found between the towns of Fuente del Conde and Los Pechos . The important Roman settlement Cerro de la Pia remained unknown for a long time, although it is close to the place near the hamlet of Cierzos y Cabreras and has an extension of around 2 km.

The first written mention of Iznájar goes back to the second half of the 9th century, when the place joined a rebellion under Umar ibn Hafsun .

From the fighting during the Reconquista under Ferdinand III. the place was spared. It remained with the Nasrid Empire of Granada until the second half of the 15th century and was only conquered for the Christians under John II .

In 1468 Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Count of Cabra, received jurisdiction and rule over the town with the title Visconte de Iznájar from King Henry IV for his services . This title of nobility has been preserved to this day. Today Álvaro López Becerra de Solé y de Casanova, who received it from Juan Carlos I in 1983, wears it .

In the vicinity of Iznájar there are estates with a long tradition, such as the Cortijo de Los Pechos , which was founded in the 18th century.

In 1969 the Rio Genil , on the banks of which the town was located, was dammed up to the Embalse de Iznájar . With a capacity of 980 million m³, this is the largest reservoir in Andalusia.

Community structure

In addition to the main town there are the villages and hamlets Ventorros de Balerma , Las Chozas , La Fuente del Conde , El Adelantado , La Cruz de la Algaida , La Celada , Los Juncares , El Higueral , Arroyo Priego , Los Pechos , Jaramillo , Lorite , Arroyo Cerezo , Arroyo Solerche , Cierzos y Cabreras , Los Concejos , La Hoz , Alarconas y Antorchas and Montes Claros y Valenzuela y Llanadas .

population

At the end of the 19th century, two thirds of the population lived scattered in farms, country houses and hamlets. Due to a wave of emigration in the 1960s and the influx of new citizens from northern countries who were looking for rural life, more than half of the residents still live scattered in the rural surroundings of the core community.

Population development

year	1996	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Residents	5,200	5,200	5,077	4,964	4,854	4,895	4,907	4,960	4,865	4,863

Attractions

Viewpoints

The Iznájar reservoir

The place is picturesquely situated on a hill. Both from the village and in the surrounding area, there are diverse views of the lake and the surrounding rugged mountain landscape.

Buildings

Castle

Hisn-Ashar Castle

Hisn Ashar Castle dates back to the 8th century and is of Hispano- Gothic origin. In the 9th century it was created under the Moorish rulers of that time in its present form. In the 11th century, the walls surrounding the armory and an outer wall that were reinforced during the Nasrid period were built. A second, also Nasrid wall, was later dismantled to use the site. Only gates and some sections on exposed rocks have survived from it.

In the 18th century the castle was used as the seat of the administrator of the Duke of Sesa . She kept this function until it was sold to the Conde de la Revilla in the 20th century . In 1991 she acquired the community; since then it has been part of the national cultural heritage.

Other structures

• The Renaissance church of Santiago Apóstol ( Apostle James ) was built from 1547 to 1638 according to plans by Hernán Ruiz the Younger and remained unfinished. In 2005–2008 it was extensively restored.
• The Ermita de La Antigua , a building from the 17th century, is a large chapel with nine bays and a central dome. In the middle there is a colored sculpture of the Virgen de la Piedad (Virgin of Mercy), the patron saint of the place. The statue in Burgundian-Flemish style probably dates from the 15th century.
• City towers Torre del Reloj and Torre de San Rafael .

Personalities

• Julio Burell y Cuellar (1859-1919), journalist and minister
• Cristóbal de Castro (1874–1953), writer and journalist
• José Montilla (* 1955), politician
• Antonio Quintana († 1943), painter and poet

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. ↑ José María Calvo Baeza: Nombres de lugar españoles de origen árabe , Madrid, Darek-Nyumba, 1990

Web links

Commons : Iznájar  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Static information about Iznájar (span.)