Sant Mateu (Baix Maestrat)

Municipality of Sant Mateu
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Valencia
Province :	Castellón
Comarca :	Baix Maestrat
Coordinates	40 ° 28 ′  N , 0 ° 11 ′  E Coordinates: 40 ° 28 ′  N , 0 ° 11 ′  E
Height :	325  msnm
Area :	64.6 km²
Residents :	1,963 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	30.39 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	12170
Municipality number  ( INE ):	12100
administration
Official language :	Castilian , Catalan
Mayor :	Ana Besalduch Besalduch
Website :	www.santmateu.com

Sant Mateu (Spanish: San Mateo) is a municipality in the province of Castelló (Castellón) in the autonomous Valencian Community , Spain . It is located in the comarca Baix Maestrat (Bajo Maestrazgo) in the north of the region. Today it is the main town in the interior of the Lower Maestrat, in the Middle Ages it was even the main town of the entire Maestrat (Maestrazgo) .

The place is located in a wide valley, which is characterized by agriculture, especially olives , and on the edges of which the mountains rise up to about 800 m. There are some medium-sized companies, including the furniture industry.

history

Plaça Major main square

Sant Mateu is on the Roman Via Augusta and finds from Roman times indicate that there was already a settlement at this point. Even before the Reconquista , Sant Mateu was first mentioned in writing as Sancto Matheo in 1195 . The place was conquered by James I and first handed over to the Knights of St. John . At the beginning of the 14th century, Sant Mateu, which had belonged to the Order of Montesa since the coronation year of James II in 1319 , was at times the home of the Cathars .

During the time of the Order of Montes, the place experienced its first bloom. It became a seat of the order and the capital of their domain, the Maestrat, and wool was exported as the main export item to Tuscany . Sant Mateu was the venue for several meetings of the Estates General of the Kingdom of Valencia and was visited several times by famous people of their time. These included the Dominican Saint Vincent Ferrer , the antipope Benedict XII, popularly known as " Papa Luna ", and King Philip II of Spain . The most important event in Sant Mateu was the resignation of Clement VIII , the successor of "Papa Luna", announced in the Archpriest Church of Sant Mateus on August 15, 1429 , a prerequisite for overcoming the occidental schism .

The rule of the order ended in 1587 and from then on Sant Mateu was directly subordinate to the Spanish crown in the person of King Philip II. Under the Habsburgs , the region was given a certain degree of autonomy, as is common practice, the rulers appointed general representatives for the Maestrazgo / Maestrat until 1784. The Bourbon dynasty following the Habsburg dynasty , during the War of Succession , there were also battles in Sant Mateu, but in the course of the 18th century relied more and more on the centralization of the state known to them from France , which also led to the abolition of this office . Between 1810 and 1813 the place was occupied by French troops and in the First Carlist War there was major destruction.

Attractions

Archpriest Church Església Arxiprestal

In addition to a few other religious and profane buildings, most of which date back to the Middle Ages, the Archpriest's Church is the main architectural attraction of Sant Mateus, not least because of its historical importance (see the History section).

For nature lovers, the administration has signposted four circular hiking trails of different lengths and degrees of difficulty, one of them is the route of the millennial olive trees and the above-mentioned Via Augusta long-distance route now serves as a farm road and can be explored on foot or by bike. On the territory of the small neighboring municipality of Tirig, prehistoric rock carvings, including a museum, are located on the edge of the Valltorta gorge .

The most important celebrations in the annual calendar are Holy Week with its processions and the patronage celebrations in the second half of August.

Personalities

• Sergio Aragonés (born 1937), cartoonist

Trivia

The film El Olivo - The Olive Tree was partly shot in Sant Mateu and the surrounding area.

Web links

• Sights on the tourism website of the province of Castellón (German)

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).