Mejorada del Campo

Mejorada del Campo municipality
Mejorada del Campo - aerial view
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Madrid
Province :	Madrid
Comarca :	Cuenca del Henares
Coordinates	40 ° 24 ′  N , 3 ° 29 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′  N , 3 ° 29 ′  W
Height :	580  msnm
Area :	17.21 km²
Residents :	23,274 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	1,352.35 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	28840
Municipality number  ( INE ):	28084
administration
Website :	Mejorada del Campo

Mejorada del Campo is a city and a central Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 23,274 inhabitants (as of January 1 2019) in the east of the Community of Madrid in the transition to the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The municipality was formerly part of the Alcarria cultural landscape .

Location and climate

The town of Mejorada del Campo, located about 830  m above sea level, is located at the confluence of the Río Henares in the Río Jarama in the Iberian Highlands ( meseta ), southeast of the Castilian Divisional Mountains . The Spanish capital Madrid is a good 22 km (driving distance) to the west; the town of Alcalá de Henares is about 18 km to the northeast. The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 450 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2001	2019
Residents	886	1,025	1,853	15,771	23,274

Due to its location in the greater Madrid area, the population of the former rural municipality has grown enormously since the 1950s.

Economy and history

Mejorada del Campo was a rural community until the middle of the 20th century, the residents of which lived largely as self-sufficient on the yields of their fields and gardens. Agriculture still plays an important role today, but several smaller businesses have also set up shop.

history

The establishment of the place is to be assumed for the time after the reconquest ( reconquista ) and repopulation ( repoblación ) of the areas north and northeast of Toledo in the 11th and 12th centuries. After the inhabitants became directly dependent on the king in the 18th century, the place was temporarily called Mejorada del Rey . A few decades later, the place and its surroundings were handed over to Don Francisco González de Heredia y Gante, who remained the landlord (señor) for a few years .

Attractions

Mejorada del Campo - Catedral de Justo

• The Iglesia de la Natividad de Nuestra Señora is in Mudejar style built single- and virtually windowless church of the 16th century. While the apse is vaulted, the nave is spanned by an open roof truss . At the end of the 17th century, on behalf of Don Pedro Gaetano Fernández del Campo, the 2nd Marqués de Mejorada, the three apsidial and the Capilla de San Fausto , a small masterpiece of baroque architecture and decor , which is elevated by a central dome with a lantern, was added . It was supposed to serve as a burial place (pantéon) and prayer chapel (oratorio) for the family and shows an exquisite stone work in many details.
• However, the main attraction of the city is the Catedral de Justo called unfinished church, the Creator, born 1925 Justo Gallego Martínez , at the age of 27 years as a novice in the Trappist abbey of Santa María de Huerta came in, this, however, nine years later because of tuberculosis disease infection again had to leave. After his surprising healing, in 1961, out of gratitude, without support from the Catholic Church and with donated materials, he began building an approx. 55 m long, 25 m wide and 35 m high domed church on an inherited property. Due to a lack of structural calculations, the extremely popular church is in danger of collapsing.

Web links

Commons : Mejorada del Campo  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Mejorada del Campo - Photo + Info (Spanish)

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. ↑ Mejorada del Campo / Madrid - climate tables
3. ↑ Mejorada del Campo - population development
4. ↑ Mejorada del Campo - Parish Church
5. ↑ Mejorada del Campo - Capilla