Molina de Aragon

Molina de Aragón municipality
	Molina de Aragón - city view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Guadalajara
Comarca :	Señorío de Molina-Alto Tajo
Coordinates	40 ° 51 ′ N , 1 ° 53 ′ W Coordinates: 40 ° 51 ′ N , 1 ° 53 ′ W
Height :	1065 msnm
Area :	168.33 km²
Residents :	3,275 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	19.46 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	19300
Municipality number ( INE ):	19190
administration
Website :	Molina de Aragon

Molina de Aragón is a small town in central Spain and a municipality with 3,275 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Guadalajara in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The municipality also includes the two hamlets (pedanías) Cubillejo del Sitio and Cubillejo de la Sierra and belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica . The historic center is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .

Location and climate

Molina de Aragón is located in the Sierra de Molina on the banks of the Río Gallo about 200 km northeast of Madrid or almost 140 km northeast of the provincial capital Guadalajara at an altitude of about 1050 to 1090 m . The climate is temperate to warm from spring to autumn; Rain (approx. 490 mm / year) falls throughout the year, with the exception of the rather dry summer months. In winter, Molina de Aragón is one of the coldest cities on the Iberian Peninsula .

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	3,171	2,907	3,060	3,304	3,365

Aragonite from the Rio Gallo near Molina de Aragón

The mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the associated loss of jobs led in the 20th century to a migration of many rural residents to the larger cities ( rural exodus ).

economy

As early as the Middle Ages, the castle was responsible for the gradual development of urban structures with trade, services and commerce. The agrarian surrounding area supplied the place with food, although animals were also kept in the city. Molina de Aragón is still a commercial and service center today. There are aragonite deposits on the Rio Gallo .

history

In the area of the castle (castillo) , which was probably built by the ancient Celtiberians , there are neither Roman nor Visigoth traces. Only the far had advanced in the 8th century in the northern peninsular Moors built on the distinctive castle rock a new fortress (hisn) that around the year 1129 during the Reconquista by Alfonso I (r. 1104-1134) the Moors was removed and shortly thereafter rebuilt in an enlarged form. The place and castle were disputed between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragón for a long time before they finally fell to Castile in the 14th century.

Attractions

In addition to the castle ruins declared a national monument in 1931, the Romanesque bridge (Puente Viejo), the Romanesque churches of Santa María del Conde, San Gil and San Felipe y Santo Tomás, the Romanesque monastery of St. Clare of Assisi (Convento de Santa Clara), the monastery of St. Francis (Convento de San Francisco), some palaces and villas and the Jewish quarter ( Judería ).