Santa Eufemia (Andalusia)

Santa Eufemia parish
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Cordoba
Comarca :	Los Pedroches
Coordinates	38 ° 36 ′  N , 4 ° 54 ′  W Coordinates: 38 ° 36 ′  N , 4 ° 54 ′  W
Height :	561  msnm
Area :	187.34 km²
Residents :	755 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	4.03 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	14491
Municipality number  ( INE ):	14061

Santa Eufemia is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cordoba in Andalusia . It covers an area of ​​187 km² (population density: 4 E / km²) and is located at an altitude of 561 m above sea level , 101 km from the provincial capital of Cordoba. In 2019 the community had 755 inhabitants.

Surname

Santa Eufemia is the first settlement in the Kingdom of Cordoba that appears in the documents with a Christian toponym shortly after the conquest. However, the origin of the name is difficult to determine. Some researchers ascribe the name to a Mozarabic settlement who suggested the name adopted by Alfonso VII during the conquest. Others connect the name directly to the king, in whose Galician followers the name was quite common.

The historian Arjona Castro tends to the first hypothesis: It could be the Castellanized translation of the Mozarabic place name Sant Qunyah ( Ufimya , Uqunya ), which appears in the work of the Arab geographer al-Idrisi . This contrasts with the oral tradition of Santa Eufemia, which is deeply rooted in the population. She connects the name with 33 Italian horsemen from Calabria who came to the area as part of the Castilian army. According to the legend, they stormed the city fortifications with the battle cry "Santa Eufemia", the name of their native saint, and gave the settlement its name. Hence the family name of the "Calabreses" and the brotherhood "Hermandad de la Santa" is an expression of this tradition. The brotherhood refers to military brotherhoods by using badges such as flag, standard, sticks, halberds and drum and they keep the number of 33 for the number of their brothers ("hermanos" = cofrades). At the place where, according to legend, the troops of Alfonso VII camped, the Ermita stands today, to which the procession to "Santa Eufemia" goes on Resurrection Sunday ( Easter ).

heritage Site

Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación Church

The construction of the parish church combines elements of the morisco and mudéjar styles, with sturdy constructions and masonry made of stone and red bricks. It dates from the first half of the 14th century. Towards the end of the 15th century the apse , the side chapels and the bell tower were added. His unique ship is supported on the inside on opposite sides by six robust arches made of bricks, which are connected to the walls by large-format right-angled trains. It houses a neo-baroque retable from 1854.

Ermita de Santa Eufemia

The hermitage is in the area of ​​the Finca "El Donadío", about five km east of the settlement on the Río Guadalmez . According to tradition, the patronage church of the place stands on the spot where Alfonso VII's troops camped before the conquest. It is very old and has a very simple construction, with a single nave measuring 12.6 by 8.6 m and arches made of bricks and stone pillars that merge into supporting pillars on the outside.

Ermita de la Virgen de las Cruces

In the area of Valdefuentes , halfway between Santa Eufemia and El Guijo , the small hermitage rises on the ruins of an older structure from the 14th century. The preserved building dates from 1898 when the Marquesa de Torrecilla , at the urging of the Alcalden of Santa Eufemia, Miguel Guillermo Romero and the priest Martín Caballero Atalaya , a piece of land in the area " El Cubillo ", the place where the hermitage still stands today to establish the same ceded. It has a single nave and is spanned by a coffered ceiling made of beams. The facade is made of granite stone with pointed arches and cornices that clearly evoke the Mudejar style that is characteristic of the area. The origin of the cult in this place goes back to the years between 1548 and 1560, when Santa Eufemia was hit by an epidemic together with the neighboring towns of El Guijo and Torrecampo . The three places made pilgrimages to the image of the Virgen de las Cruces in El Guijo. But after Santa Eufemia had lost his rights to the Virgen de las Cruces in 1897, the Pueblo calabrés built this Ermita.

Castillo de Miramontes

The Castillo is an Arab building and possibly even goes back to a pre-Romanesque hill fort . It is deeply connected to the history of the place. The structure that has been preserved was largely built in the Almoravid and Almohadic epochs, when the district (cora de "Fahs al-Ballut") had already become a heavily military outpost. The floor plan is polygonal and the remains are completely in ruins, although it has been partially or fully rebuilt several times in its history. The entire northern wall section and the residential tower, called "Cárcel", as well as the remains of a cistern and parts of the eastern wall, which, however, come from a later time, have been preserved. The castle was finally destroyed in 1478, probably on the orders of the Reyes Católicos as punishment for the Señor de Santa Eufemia , Gonzalo Messía Carrillo II (Señorío de La Guardia).

City walls (Murallas)

The current city walls date back to Gonzalo Mejía II . What prompted the Señor de Santa Eufemia to fortify the city - with one of the few late city walls - is not known. However, this may be related to the dangerous actions that Gonzalo Mejía II took. For example, he rose up against the city of Cordoba by force of arms because he stubbornly refused to give up the Castillo de Pedroche . For this reason, he engaged the master mason and citizen of Cordoba Juan de Aragón on June 17, 1474. He built a mighty walled district with strong round towers made of lime and stone. Only heavily weathered pieces remain of this original district, as well as a few turrets and the beautiful Puerta de Córdoba ("Arco o puerta de la Villa").

Castillo de Vioque

The Castillo de Vioque is located about 8 km in a straight line northeast of Santa Eufemia on a hill with good natural fortification, from where it dominates the valley of the Río Gudalmez. The magnificent fortress dates from the first or second century AD. Some researchers identify the place with a túrdulo-Romanesque enclave called Sosintigi . Although only ruins remain, the Castillo impresses with its size and good work. originally it had a double fortification wall. The inner fortification wall is a mighty, pyramid-shaped wall with cyclopean stones and various towers, made of hewn ashlar stones from the area. The outer wall rises above the natural rock. This outer wall is of inferior construction. There is another space between the outer and inner fortification walls, which could be used as an extension in the event of a defense. The castle is protected by the Decree of April 22nd, 1949 and Law 16/1985 on the Patrimonio Histórico Español. In 1993, the Junta de Andalucía issued special protective measures for the Castillos of the Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía .

Culture

• Various festivals are celebrated throughout the year. The annual cycle begins with San Blas on 2/3. February. The festival is organized by the Hermandad de San Blas, a traditional association with military ranks. The association wields standards, flags and halberds. On the night of February 2nd the brotherhood is called together by singing (la aurora). Lamps are lit in front of the doors of the four hermanos de cargo (functionaries) Por la noche se encienden candelas a las puertas de los cuatros.
• Easter - La Santa (Domingo de Resurrección): The local patroness is Santa Eufemia, in honor of her the pilgrimage "Romería de la Santa" is organized on Easter Sunday. The responsible brotherhood goes back to the Middle Ages. It consists of 33 members. The pilgrimage leads to the Ermita de la Santa , in the area "El Donadío", on the Río Gualdalmez, which separates the province of Cordoba from Ciudad Real.
• La Virgen de Las Cruces : On May 1st, a festival is celebrated that is very important for the place. The origins go back to the 16th century, when the towns of Santa Eufemia, El Guijo and Torrecampo worshiped the Virgen in a hermitage in the area of ​​El Guijo due to an epidemic . A flood of the Río Cigüeñuela and the lack of today's bridge prevented the "Calabreses" from helping to shape the pilgrimage in 1897. With that they lost the right to participate. Thereupon they built the Ermita, which today serves as a place of pilgrimage. The brotherhood is the largest in the place. The festivities run from April 30th to May 1st. For the procession, the place is particularly festively decorated with crosses made of flowers.
• San Isidro is celebrated on May 15th. One of the celebrations is the ritual burning of the traditional "isidril" doll the evening before. The following day there is a colorful parade with decorated floats. The Hermandad de San Isidro brotherhood is the youngest of the town. It only came into being in the 1990s. The pilgrimage leads to the Ermita San Isidro at a place called "El Ventorro".
• Feria de San Pedro on June 29th: San Pedro is the patron saint of Santa Eufemia along with "La Santa". The rt celebrates the festival for four days.
• Fiestas del Emigrante August 15th: Because a large part of the population emigrated in the last century and cannot celebrate the patronage festival, this festival was created to make up for the celebration during the summer holidays.

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. ^ [1] Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
3. ↑ Castillo de Miramontes  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (o de Santa Eufemia).  

literature

• Mancomunidad de Los Pedroches: Los Pedroches. Mancomunidad de Municipios, Cordoba. Guia Turistica 1998. CO-1,388-1998.

Web links

Commons : Santa Eufemia (Córdoba)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ayuntamiento de Santa Eufemia
• Santa Eufemia , Sistema de Información Multiterritorial de Andalucía.