Maqueda
| Maqueda municipality | |||
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 Maqueda - town view
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| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : | Castile-La Mancha | ||
| Province : | Toledo | ||
| Comarca : | Torrijos | ||
| Coordinates | 40 ° 4 ′ N , 4 ° 22 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 501 msnm | ||
| Area : | 73.67 km² | ||
| Residents : | 438 (Jan. 1, 2019) | ||
| Population density : | 5.95 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Postal code : | 45515 | ||
| Municipality number ( INE ): | 45091 | ||
| administration | |||
| Website : | Maqueda | ||
Maqueda is a small town and a central Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 438 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the province of Toledo in the Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha . The historic town center is recognized as a national cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .
Location and climate
Maqueda is located immediately west of the A5 at an altitude of about 500 m, almost 43 km (driving distance) northwest of Toledo and about 77 km southwest of Madrid . The next larger town of Torrijos is about 17 km southeast. The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is dry and warm; the sparse rain (approx. 365 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter months.
Population development
| year | 1857 | 1900 | 1950 | 2000 | 2017 |
| Residents | 575 | 556 | 678 | 455 | 469 |
The increasing mechanization of agriculture since the 1950s and the abandonment of small farms led to unemployment and the emigration of part of the population.
economy
In earlier centuries Maqueda was the artisanal and mercantile center of a large number of individual farmsteads and small villages in its agrarian area. Small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds have settled in the village.
history
The area around Maqueda essentially shares the history of Toledo: the Romans were followed by the Visigoths ; they were followed in 711 by the Arabs and the Berber tribes allied with them , who after the successful reconquest ( reconquista ) in 1085 passed the area to the Christians under the leadership of the Leonese-Castilian king Alfonso VI. had to resign. After repeated attacks by the Almohads , Alfonso VIII put the area under the control of the Order of Calatrava, founded in 1158 . In the 15th century, the town and castle briefly belonged to Don Álvaro de Luna , the advisor to King John II. In 1530, Charles V created the hereditary duchy of Maqueda ( Ducado de Maqueda ) in favor of Diego de Cárdenas y Enríquez , which is still today exists.
Attractions
- The main attraction of Maqueda is the Castillo de la Vela , which stands a little above the village and whose current state dates back to the 15th century. Its good state of preservation is due to the fact that it was used by the Guardia Civil during the Franco era and afterwards . Today the Museo Histórico de la Guardia Civil is still housed there.
- The Puerta Califal has a beautiful horseshoe arch and probably once belonged to a previous Moorish fortress; today it forms a - mostly closed - side entrance to the church of Santa María de los Alcázares .
- The parish church of Santa María de los Alcázares was founded in the 15th century; the brick tower dates back to 1908. On both sides of the staircase leading to the south portal there are two large arches that formerly belonged to a city gate. The interior of the church has three aisles; two altarpieces decorate the room, and an ancient capital has been converted into a baptismal font .
- The Torre de la Vela , which is rounded on the outside, with its alternating layers of stone and brick, was formerly part of an imposing city wall.
- A court column ( rollo jurisdiccional or picota ) with formerly four lion heads, which can be found even more frequently in small Castilian towns, stands on the square in the center of the village.
Church of Santa María de los Alcázares
Torre de la Vela
Court column ( rollo or picota )
- Surroundings
- Of the approximately 5 km east of the village standing ( 40 ° 4 '4.8 " N , 4 ° 18' 19.7" W ), built in the 15th century and formerly - rare in Spain - by a moat (foso) with Castillo de San Silvestre surrounded by a drawbridge (puente levadizo) are only ruins, but they are worth a trip.
Others
The second part of the famous novel Lazarillo de Tormes (1554) takes place in Maqueda.
literature
- Enrique Rodríguez-Picavea Mantilla: La villa de Maqueda y su tierra en la Edad Media. Instituto de Investigaciones y Estudios Toledanos, Toledo 1996, ISBN 84-87103-51-0 .
- Patrocinio Fuentes Pérez: Maqueda y sus leyendas. Instituto de Investigaciones y Estudios Toledanos, Toledo 2004. ISBN 84-96211-14-2 .
Web links
- Maqueda, historical buildings - photos + information (arteguias, Spanish)
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).
- ↑ Maqueda - climate tables
- ↑ Maqueda - population development
- ↑ Maqueda - Castillo
- ↑ Maqueda Church
- ↑ Maqueda - Torre de la Vela
- ↑ Maqueda - court column