Las Navas del Marqués

Municipality of Las Navas del Marqués
	Las Navas del Marqués - townscape with Castillo
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Ávila
Comarca :	Valle del Alberche
Coordinates	40 ° 36 ′ N , 4 ° 20 ′ W Coordinates: 40 ° 36 ′ N , 4 ° 20 ′ W
Height :	1280 msnm
Area :	97.93 km²
Residents :	5,119 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	52.27 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	05230
Municipality number ( INE ):	05168
administration
Website :	Las Navas del Marqués

Las Navas del Marqués is a small town and a municipality (municipio) with 5,119 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the east of the province of Avila in the autonomous region of Castile-León in central Spain . The historic town center is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .

Location and climate

The place Las Navas del Marqués is located in the Sierra de Malagón , a section of the Iberian Divisional Mountains at an altitude of approx. 1280 m about 37 km (driving distance) southeast of Ávila and only approx. 27 km from the Escorial . The climate is temperate to warm; the rather sparse rain (approx. 480 mm / year) falls spread over the year with the exception of the rather dry summer months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	2,731	2,647	3,866	4,272	5,187

The mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs in the countryside have led to continuous population growth in cities since the 19th century. At Las Navas there is also the relative proximity to the greater Madrid area and the Escorial.

economy

Las Navas del Marqués and the surrounding area are traditionally agriculturally oriented, but small traders, craftsmen and service providers have also settled in town. Today - especially in summer - tourism in the form of renting out holiday apartments (casas rurales) plays a not insignificant economic role.

history

The high-altitude area of Las Navas was in pre-Roman times by Celtic tribe of the Vettones populated, but were in the municipality neither Roman nor Visigoth or Moorish traces discovered and it begins history of the mountain town probably only after the recapture ( reconquista ) of the area by the King Alfonso VI of León and the subsequent repopulation ( repoblación ) by Christians from the north, but also by Mozarabs from the south in the late 11th century.

Attractions

Bullring (Plaza de Toros) and Castle (Castillo-Palacio)

Inner courtyard of the Castillo-Palacio

Castle chapel

The Castillo-Palacio de Magalia , built on the highest point of the place and still looking like a medieval castle , was built in the 1530s on behalf of Don Pedro Dávila y Zúñiga, the first Marquis of Las Navas, who was Charles V in the Comuneros uprising (1520–1522) had supported. The interior looks more like a two-story cloister ; the castle chapel is a gem of the second half of the 20th century. The palace is now used for hotel and event purposes.
Near the castle is the bullring (Plaza de Toros) - an open, round square with granite posts into which wooden beams can be inserted to protect the audience.
The Convento de Santo Domingo y San Pablo, which was created in the years after 1545 at the instigation of the Marquis, was a branch of the Dominican Order . In the 17th century it became an educational institution of the order. In the years 1809 to 1812 the monks were driven out by the Napoleonic troops; in 1835 the monastery was dissolved ( desamortisación ) and the former monastery buildings with the exception of the church were demolished. This is star vaulted and has a polygonal apse ; art exhibitions are often held here.
San Juan Bautista is the local parish church; it was also created in the 16th century. It houses a remarkable crucifix (Cristo de la Salud) and a late Baroque altarpiece (retablo) in the Churrigueresque style .
The Ermita del Santísimo Cristo de Gracia is a building from the 16th century; however, the interior was redesigned in the second half of the 20th century.
A round iron observation tower (Atalaya-Mirador de Eiffel) with an outer spiral staircase was built in 1883. The authorship of Gustave Eiffel is not clear, but all parts of the metal construction were imported from Paris.